Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I take the point the Chairman makes in respect of suicide, the huge amount of work that we have to do and his own interest in this issue. I will continue to work with the Chairman and the committee in this regard.

I am pleased that the Chairman raised the issue of the HPV vaccine, which is something that we have discussed at the committee previously. The focus for 2017 is to counter misinformation on the safety of this vaccine and to increase the uptake rate in girls, as part of the schools immunisation programme. The immunisation programme in Ireland is based on the advice of the national immunisation advisory committee, which is a committee of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland that comprises of experts in a number of specialties, including infectious diseases, paediatrics and public health. The committee's recommendations are informed by public health advice and by international best practice. In 2009, that committee recommended the HPV vaccination for all 12 year old girls to reduce their risk of cervical cancer and in September 2010, as the committee members will remember, the HPV vaccination programme was introduced for all girls in first year of second-level schools.

There are two licensed HPV vaccines available in Ireland. Gardasil is the vaccine used by the HSE in the school immunisation programme and it is provided free of charge for girls in first year of second-level school. In September 2011, there was a catch-up programme started for all girls in second-level school and the 2013-2014 campaign was the final year of this programme.

The Department is aware of claims of an association between this vaccine and a number of conditions experienced by groups of young women. More than 100 million people have been vaccinated with HPV vaccines worldwide. In Ireland, more than 220,000 girls have been vaccinated. The HPV vaccine safety has been monitored for more than ten years, not only here in Ireland but by many international bodies, including the European Medicines Agency and the World Health Organization.

An illness that occurs around the time the vaccine is given and is already known to be common in adolescence does not imply, according to the medical advice available to me, that the vaccine caused the problem. As there is no scientific evidence that the vaccine causes any long-term illness, the HPV vaccine cannot be held responsible for such illnesses. It appears that some girls first suffered symptoms around the time they received the HPV vaccine and, understandably, some parents have connected the vaccine to their daughter's condition but there is no medical or scientific evidence to suggest that available to me, the Department, the European Medicines Agency or the World Health Organization.

Any person suffering ill health is eligible to seek medical attention and access appropriate health services, irrespective of the cause of the person's symptoms, and the families of any girl suffering symptoms following the HPV vaccine are advised to seek medical advice from their family doctor in the normal manner and be referred to consultants familiar with these syndromes for diagnosis and management, if their GP believes that is appropriate. The individual nature of the needs of some children may require access to specialist services and the HSE is currently working to put in place a clinical care pathway appropriate to the medical needs of this group.

I cannot stress strongly enough that all medical advice available to us is that this vaccine is absolutely safe. That is international. Some 100 million people have been vaccinated. It saves lives from cervical cancers. Each year 300 women in this country alone are diagnosed with cervical cancer and 100 women die each year in this country from this disease. All cervical cancers are linked to high-risk HPV types and this is a vaccine that will save women's lives. In 2017, it is our intention, the HSE's intention and the intention of a number of strong advocacy groups to debunk the myth about this and to try to get the vaccination rate increased. As I say, families who believe their daughters are experiencing a medical condition that we believe is not in any way linked should seek medical advice from their GP in the first instance and a consultant where appropriate.

Can I raise one other matter, Chairman, if that is appropriate?