Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge my predecessor, Deputy Marcella Corcoran Kennedy, for the Healthy Ireland programme and thank her for all the work she has done. I hope to be able to implement the national drugs strategy in my role as Minister for State. Deputy O'Connell is right that there has been a significant fall in the numbers of young girls having the HPV vaccine. This is a very serious development for a large number of girls who may develop cervical cancer later in their lives. The Department of Health and the HSE are working to counteract the misinformation connected with the vaccine, which undermines our national vaccination programme. As parents, we understand that there are risks with all vaccinations. I once sat on the opposite side of the room and I listened to parents speaking about the HPV vaccine, as well as the counterarguments from the HSE. I am not a medical professor but the Minister attended the national vaccination conference where he heard about the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine and the work being done to increase the uptake by girls as part of the school immunisation programme. All parents are given an immunisation pack outlining what a vaccination is about, what diseases it will be effective against and the risks. The Minister can comment more on the conference.