Margaret Murphy O'Mahony (Cork South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome all the witnesses and thank them for attending. Most of what I was going to ask has been asked by my colleagues already. I only have sons so the HPV vaccine does not arise. Many of my close friends have daughters who are due to have the vaccination. The fear they feel and the big decision they face on whether to vaccinate cannot be overemphasised. They are all very level-headed girls but their parents are torn with anxiety about whether they should get their daughters vaccinated. I welcome that Dr. Corcoran said sixth class girls are now getting the leaflet. It is an excellent idea. It buys time and is not just thrown on top of them. The witnesses said they do not meet the parents. Do they think it would be a good idea to start doing that? Is it for financial reasons or because of time constraints? Why have they not already started meeting parents of girls in fifth class to buy that time for the parents to decide whether to vaccinate?