Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)

I thank the Tánaiste. As he says, Ireland has a good take-up of the HPV vaccine, but at a time when vaccine scepticism is being mainstreamed, our take-up rates have been falling. A rough estimation is that approximately 16,000 eligible Irish kids are not taking up the vaccine each year. That is why the catch-up scheme is so important.

We know the risks from the HPV virus and that it can materialise years or even decades after the initial infection – cervical cancer, oropharyngeal cancer, penile cancer, vaginal cancer – life-threatening and life-altering illnesses. I thank the Tánaiste for his response. Could he commit to a clear statement from the Minister for Health in a reasonable period, perhaps in the next three weeks, telling us that the campaign is going ahead, as the Tánaiste suggests, and giving us a timeline for that? However, if it is not going ahead, could she explain the rationale behind the fact that a public health campaign everyone says is delivering and is protecting young children is not going ahead?

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