Deirdre Clune (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

I was struck by the Minister's opening statement to the effect that her objective is to deliver better outcomes for patients. The Health Information and Quality Authority, HIQA, has produced stark figures on how many deaths this vaccination would prevent, as well as on how many people and their families need not experience trauma, pain and anguish. The Minister's decision, which is based on minor economic reasons given her Department's overall budget, flies in the face of her opening statement in respect of the patients and young women whose long-term health would benefit measurably from the vaccination. It does not make sense.

When the Minister made her announcement three months ago, she knew the budgetary situation. From feasibility studies and investigations, she would have been aware of the programme's cost, but now the HSE's figures have put the programme out of reach. It cites a cost of €16 million, but HIQA cites €9.72 million. The latter also documents the savings achievable in terms of treatment costs per year, €2.7 million, and annual incremental costs, some €6.9 million. In overall terms, the total amount is small and would have a considerable effect on young people's long-term health.

The Dublin Well Woman Centre has condemned the move to scrap the vaccination programme, stating: "While short-term budget savings may be made by not proceeding with the vaccination programme, the reality is that unnecessary deaths will arise among the cohort of girls who were to be targeted". While there will be a gain in the short term, we will pay a long-term price in terms of health and economics. It is well known that €1 spent on disease prevention saves €20 on treatment. It always pays to invest in preventative programmes. I appeal to the Minister to find the money elsewhere in the overall budget.

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