Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

That is interesting. I will comment first and then pass over to the director general.

I do not disagree with a word Deputy O'Connell has said on the issue of our maternity services - I doubt anyone present disagrees either. The fact that we did not have a national maternity strategy in Ireland until 2016 tells us all we need to know about it being the proverbial Cinderella of the Irish health service. We are now on the cusp of being able to advance plans to build new maternity hospitals, relocate maternity hospitals and advance our anomaly scans.

Reference was made to the human papilloma virus vaccine. We have done something great in this country. I am proud of the work of the HSE and the political leadership from many people in this room and in these Houses. I am proud of the work of all the clinicians who have supported this as well. We have managed to do something that other countries have not managed to do, that is, reverse a concerning trend in HPV prevalence. We need to continue on that track. There can be no room for complacency. We continually need to call out those who profess to be medical experts, but who are not, and who put forward dangerous misinformation, often on social media.

Deputy O'Connell asked about the expansion of the vaccine to boys. Deputy O'Connell, as a scientist, will appreciate that it is appropriate for me to follow the scientific advice from the health technology assessment process. That is why I asked HIQA to get that process under way. I expect to be better informed of the outcome shortly.