Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)

I accept what the Minister of State said; obviously, there is an issue regarding the negotiated price for the medication. Surely, we must look at the long-term challenges with an increasing older population. As the Minister of State outlined, those in the older age group are more prone to getting shingles. The number of people having to go into hospital will increase, as will the number who require treatment. The cost to the HSE and health service will increase. Even if we started by only providing it to people over 70, that would at least be a start on the programme. We are going nowhere at present.

People require support. There are long-term effects that people do not recover from. I am aware of several people who suffered long-term eye damage from shingles and cannot regain their previous vision. Their eyesight is not the same as it was previously as a result of the damage caused by shingles. We should give careful consideration to this matter and take it step by step. If we cannot afford to provide the vaccine to everyone over 65, we must at least start with some age group so we can then work back to include people aged 65 and, long term, down to 50.

I ask the Department to give serious consideration to this matter to see how it can be progressed. There is a cost to the State. It is a substantial cost every year with hospital admissions and people having to attend their GPs, most of whom have medical cards and will have to attend more often if they contract the infection. I ask that careful consideration be given to the proposal.

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