John Moloney (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

No, but I want to clarify the position for people who have been upset by recent publications regarding the Government's change of thinking on vaccination. It has been suggested that we are leaving people bereft with no support structure whatsoever, but the national screening process can give major protection. In addition, it is important to note that countries which have organised cervical screening programmes have substantially reduced the numbers of new cases and deaths from cervical cancer. It is not just a case of coming in here to talk about what HIQA or the European Commission's expert group might say. The proven track record of governments abroad has shown how a national screening process can work, if properly implemented and taken up. The challenge is to do that. I also believe that the approach reflects best international advice. The Minister made it clear that when the decision was announced last August, nobody was aware of the decline in the national taxation returns.

It is worth noting that the Department of Health and Children was expected to cut expenditure by €700 million, yet €400 million was to be found for new services. I refer to the international audit of success rates for the treatment of many cancers, breast cancer in particular. We cannot put one specific cancer area above another. We must centralise the best cancer treatment in the eight centres, but in order to fund those centres every available euro is required. This year €15 million has been allocated in very tight budgetary times to continue the national cancer process. It would be wrong to say that because the Government is not proceeding with the vaccine programme it is not supporting the cancer programme as a whole. I refer to Professor Keane's recent remarks about the additional cancer strategies and the proposals he intends to implement. It is also important to stress that the requirement for a population base for a cervical cancer screening programme is not replaced by the introduction of a vaccine programme. In other words, even if we had the wherewithal to go with the vaccination programme, the reality is that the first major check or safeguard is the screening programme.

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