Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)

First, I never announced it was to be introduced in 2007. What we announced for 2007 was the provision of €5 million to begin the process of recruiting staff, etc. As Deputy Reilly well knows, that must happen in advance and sometimes there can be quite a long lead-in time. Second, we will do this on a full roll-out basis. It will not be done in the way BreastCheck was done, namely, region by region. The entire population affected will be done on one national basis and that is why we will be doing so many in one year.

Third, I accept what Deputy Reilly stated about other countries. If memory serves me, Canada introduced this service in 1969. The cost of these roll-outs in countries like Canada or Scotland is a fraction of what it is here. Among the issues that affect the cost here is the fee paid to general practitioners for vaccines, which Deputy Reilly well knows is three times higher here than in other countries.

That brings me to the vaccine. HIQA is undertaking a technology assessment of the vaccine and that will be completed shortly. The vaccine is obviously preventative for the future and I hope that we will introduce it. I believe we will, but I must await the technology assessment, which is now part of the law in this country, where we undertake a pharmo-economic assessment of new drugs and technology assessment so that we introduce products or treatments that are effective in an Irish context. The CEO of HIQA informed me at my meeting with her in the past two weeks that the assessment to which I refer will be ready in the next couple of weeks.

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