National Sexual Health Strategy, 2025 – 2035

The National Sexual Health Strategy, 2025 – 2035 is our new strategic framework for the sexual health and wellbeing of the Irish population, launched in June 2025.

It succeeds the National Sexual Health Strategy, 2015-2020, which was extended during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The vision behind both Strategies is that everyone in Ireland experiences positive sexual health and wellbeing and has access to high quality sexual health information, education and services throughout life.

The life course approach to sexual health acknowledges the importance of developing healthy sexuality throughout childhood and adolescence and builds on that foundation for positive sexual health and wellbeing into adulthood and older age.

The NSHS 2025-2035 will be supported by 3 consecutive Action Plans across its 10 year timeframe. The first of these, the National Sexual Health Action Plan, 2025-2028, which lays out more detailed implementation plans for the first 3 years, is included within the Strategy document.

The four key goals of the NSHS 2025-2035 are to support:

• Sexual health promotion and education; Evidence informed, inclusive and tailored sexual health promotion will be available to all. This will be achieved through the provision of information, education and communications campaigns that support positive sexual health and wellbeing, and the prevention of negative sexual health outcomes across the life-course.

• Sexual health services; Equitable, accessible and high-quality sexual health services for the maintenance and improvement of sexual health and prevention of sexual ill-health that are targeted and tailored to need, will be available to everyone.

• Contraception and unplanned pregnancy; High quality information and services will be available to all, enabling reproductive choice in relation to contraception and unplanned pregnancy options and supporting those who have experienced domestic, sexual and gender-based violence.

• Sexual health surveillance, monitoring, evaluation and research; Robust and high-quality sexual health surveillance, monitoring, evaluation and research will underpin all aspects of policy, practice, service delivery and planning of sexual health outcomes.

The NSHS, 2025-2035 also includes 6 core principles;

• sex positivity,
• diversity, equality and social inclusion
• working together in partnership
• International commitments
• Supporting delivery through our people
• Widening equitable access and capacity through joined-up, people-centered service delivery.

The Strategy emphasizes priorities included in the Programme for Government, Securing Ireland’s Future, 2025, including additional supports for HIV and STI prevention, diagnosis and care, widening services that can be delivered through primary care, supporting relevant women’s, men’s and LGBTIQ+ health services and supporting the Justice sector and CUAN in the prevention of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence and in providing care for its victims

The new Strategy was informed by an independent review of the first NSHS, which was carried out by Crowe Ireland on behalf of the Department of Health and identified the majority of actions in the Strategy as having been successfully progressed. Indicative recommendations to build on ongoing achievements informed the direction of the new Strategy.

The first National Sexual Health Strategy, 2015-2020 and the Review are also available below.