Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I will raise only one issue and that is human papillomavirus, HPV, vaccination. We all know through the questions I asked a week and a half ago that it has dropped from 80% to 53.6%, which is deeply worrying. I am passionate about this, have worked on it for years and having lobbied to get HPV brought in for boys. What will we do to catch up? Students have gone back to school. We need to have a catch-up. There is no information coming from the HSE as to what catch-up programme will be implemented for HPV.

I suggest we put it for the period of the catch-up to pharmacies, free of charge. I have been inundated with people who want to get their children vaccinated but cannot. As it looks like there will be continuous issues in schools so let us have the other option of doing it through pharmacies and potentially GPs. Laura Brennan's legacy cannot be let go like this, nor can all the work and advocacy she, in particular, did along with others. Will the Taoiseach please ensure there is a catch-up programme so we can get back on track in relation to HPV vaccinations?

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