Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

In the Dáil this morning, the Taoiseach callously and hysterically dismissed Deputy Kenny's call for the immunisation programme to be reinstated to protect the lives of women. He also made reference to the screening programme. In non-clinical terms, it seems the Government regards it as acceptable that women develop pre-cancerous and cancerous cells, and that they be denied a life-saving vaccine. We now know that had the vaccine been available a number of years ago, of the 93 deaths from cervical cancer in 2004, 52 would not have occurred.

The Minister for Health and Children herself acknowledged that two particular forms of the HPV virus cause 70% of cervical cancers and that the vaccine prevents these two particular strains. The essential ethos of a national cancer strategy should not merely be detection and treatment but also prevention where possible. At a time of financial stringency, it seems that this Government is now prepared to sacrifice the lives of women on the altar of political expediency.

The Minister has made much of her need to identify €700 million in cuts for next year. She has annually costed the immunisation programme at €10 million. An extra six cent on a packet of 20 cigarettes, as part of a cancer strategy, would provide the funds required by the Minister for this programme annually.

The Minister is right when she said it is about making choices. She made the right choice in August when announcing the start-up of the vaccination programme, but made the wrong choice in doing a U-turn to cancel the programme in October. The truth is that this Government has no moral compass and no commitment to a recognisable value system.

I do not believe in demonising the Minister but she and her colleagues have been in Government for so long that they are incapable of making the right choices, are out of touch and institutionalised. Detached decisions are made which impact on the lives of real people with whose plight this Government cannot identify. It is a morally bankrupt Government that agrees to deny to young girls a vaccine that it acknowledges will prevent cervical cancer. It is incomprehensible that we have a Minister for Health and Children who can describe herself as a strong proponent of a life-saving vaccine and then announce and defend her cancellation of the programme to administer it.

This is essentially about an immunisation programme for children. Has any thought been given to the rights of these children? There is an extraordinary hypocrisy in a Government engaging in cross-party discussions for a children's rights amendment to the Constitution while simultaneously denying to children life-saving immunisation. This is a Government engaged in serial and tragic incompetence on an epic scale. That incompetence was clearly illustrated in the embarrassing contribution of the Minister of State with responsibility for children, who attempted to defend the indefensible. It is clear that in the context of his child protection duties, the Minister of State completely failed to play any meaningful role in Cabinet when this scandalous and indefensible decision was made.

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