Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has called for urgent action to establish a national endometriosis service, saying women in Ireland face waits of up to 14 and a half years for a diagnosis. The demand follows an RTÉ Investigates report that highlighted long delays and poor access to care for the condition.

McDonald said it was scandalous that any woman should wait so long for a diagnosis and that many are forced to take out loans to travel abroad for treatment. She called for a comprehensive national service with regional multi-disciplinary centres of excellence, and said the government had not announced specific endometriosis funding in the latest budget despite Sinn Féin allocating €30 million in its alternative budget.

David Cullinane, Sinn Féin's health spokesperson, echoed the call, describing the situation as a damning indictment of women's healthcare. He said the RTÉ investigation found 88% of women surveyed waited at least five years for a diagnosis, 78% were initially misdiagnosed, and nearly three quarters rated their access to care as poor or very poor.

Cullinane said women are often told their symptoms are normal or that they are exaggerating, and some have had to spend thousands on private care or travel abroad for surgery. He repeated the call for a properly funded, multi-annual national strategy with regional centres of excellence, staffed by multidisciplinary teams including specialist gynaecologists, pain specialists, and fertility services.

Sinn Féin will hold a women's health summit focused on endometriosis on Saturday, October 17th. The party says as many as one in seven women are affected by the condition.