(Update on the BowelScreen age range: From 1 April 2026, BowelScreen is for everyone aged 57 to 71).
During Men’s Health Week 2025, we're encouraging all eligible men and boys to choose screening.
Men’s Health Week takes place from 9 to 15 June 2025. It focuses on raising awareness about the health challenges men face and encourages men to prioritise their wellbeing. This year’s theme is Shoulder to shoulder: connecting for health, inspiring men to support each other to take steps to maintain their health.
The aims of Men's Health Week are to:
- heighten awareness of preventable health problems for males of all ages
- support men and boys to engage in healthier lifestyle choices and activities
- encourage the early detection and treatment of health difficulties in males.
Why men should choose screening
Screening is an important and practical step that men can take to look after their health.
- Screening can help prevent disease from developing.
- Screening can lead to earlier detection and treatment.
- Screening is free and accessible.
- Screening can save lives.
National screening programmes for men
Men are eligible for two of our national screening programmes:
- BowelScreen – the national bowel screening programme
- Diabetic RetinaScreen – the national diabetic retinal screening.
About BowelScreen
BowelScreen is for everyone aged 59 to 70 living in Ireland. It’s for people who do not have any symptoms of bowel cancer.
Bowel screening aims to:
- prevent cancer from developing by finding and removing early signs of disease (polyps)
- find bowel cancer at an early stage when it can be easier to treat.
You’ll get your first invitation to take part in BowelScreen between the ages of 59 and 61, and every two years after that.
Bowel screening is a free, simple, test that you do at home at a time that suits you. It’s called a FIT kit (faecal immunochemical test). Most people find the test kit easy to use.
We post the FIT kit to you when you decide to take part. It comes in a small envelope that fits in most letter boxes. It will include information about how to do the test and you can watch this short video explaining how to use the BowelScreen home test kit.
You put a sample of your poo on a small stick and place it into a tube. You post the sample back for free. This goes to the laboratory we use for testing.
The test looks for blood in your poo. Most people get a normal result, and we’ll invite you to do the test again in two years. If your test shows a certain amount of blood in your poo, you will get a ‘not normal’ result and we’ll invite you for a test called a colonoscopy.
We have information videos in 25 languages and information in accessible formats to support you to take part in BowelScreen.
You need to be on our BowelScreen register to get an invite to take part. There are a few ways you can make sure you are on our register, and check your address details:
- freephone: 1800 45 45 55
- email: info@bowelscreen.ie
- online: hse.ie/bowelscreen
About Diabetic RetinaScreen
We offer free eye screening to people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes aged 12 and over.
We screen for an eye disease called retinopathy, looking for changes to the back of your eyes - the retina - that could be a sign of this disease. When diabetic retinopathy is found early, treatment can reduce or prevent damage to your eyesight.
Diabetic RetinaScreen is free and if treatment is needed, this is also free.
To take part in Diabetic RetinaScreen, you must register with the programme. There are two ways you can do this:
- ask your GP, practice nurse, dietitian, eye doctor or other healthcare professionals to register you
- register yourself at www.hse.ie/diabeticretinascreen - fill in the registration form online, print it, ask your GP to sign it, and post it to us.
When we get this information from you or your GP, we’ll send you a letter inviting you to agree (consent) to take part in screening. We’ll add your details to our register when you give your consent.
We’ll then send you an invitation to attend your free eye screening appointment at a local screening centre. We have 140 screening locations across the country. Dublin-based Diabetic Retinal Technician/Screener Kevin Edovia talks about his role and what happens when you go for your eye screening.
We answer your questions about why it’s important to go for regular eye screening if you have diabetes, how to register with us, what happens at your appointment, and where to get more information.
Men’s Health Week webinar
The HSE is hosting a Men’s Health webinar on Monday 9 June 2025 at 12 noon. The webinar will feature former Irish international rugby player Bernard Jackman, and former Dublin GAA footballer Michael Darragh Macauley encouraging all men to think and talk about their health in a positive way. It will also feature a video of BowelScreen patient advocate Joe Grogan, who was diagnosed with bowel cancer after taking part in BowelScreen, and now encourages others to choose screening. Register for the webinar.