Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I fully agree with that. I believe the Deputy and I agree on this. The lock them up mentality has dominated many of our debates on tackling difficult social issues - lock them up, brush the problem under the carpet, pretend it does not exist and send it abroad. We have heard all sorts of different versions when people have come upon hard times in this country. We must face up to drug addiction. That does not mean we should legalise drugs. Educating our children about the serious dangers of taking drugs is key. They are dangerous and can destroy one's life but responding to a person who has become an addict with more than simply a blue siren is important.

I am passionate about the issue of vaccinations. Later today, we will bring my baby to get her latest vaccinations. Vaccinations save lives. We have to start pushing back against the misinformation in this area. I want to set up an alliance to be proactively on the pitch because when we are not on the pitch; all those people the Deputy mentioned and others are on the pitch spreading this misinformation. We need healthcare professionals, patient advocates and policymakers working together on this. I have a number of meetings this week on the issue.

I hope to be in a position to announce a new alliance to promote vaccination, just like we successfully did together in respect of the HPV vaccine. The director general referred to the really excellent increase. There is a 70% uptake rate. Therefore, it is possible. We will do it. Issues relating to mandatory vaccination, etc., will be examined. Many of my colleagues are looking at those. Members will have heard the comments from my UK and German counterparts. Ireland needs to be involved in these discussions because they are happening right across the globe. However, no decisions have yet been made. The alliance absolutely needs to happen because, unfortunately, diseases that we had thought had become confined to the history books because of the success of vaccination are now creeping back and having a devastating impact on some people. I expect that we will make progress on that in the coming weeks.

On the issue of folic acid, that will be looked at in the context of the women's health action plan. Work is under way on that plan.

On the issue of contraception, the working group has been established and is under way. I had a good meeting with colleagues from the HSE's sexual health unit last week on that and I expect the working group to report to me in September in time for me to try to make provisions in the forthcoming budget.

On the exclusion zones, I am pleased that the number of GPs signing up to provide termination services continues to rise. It is well above 300 now. It was 160 when we started the service. There is a need for safe access zones. I am absolutely committed to bringing forward that legislation. I expect to bring the general scheme of a Bill on that to Cabinet before the summer recess.