Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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Question 98: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children the steps she will take following the recent revelations that it will be 2006 before an estimated 180,000 children in the State will be able to get the booster vaccinations they require to protect them from a bug which can cause a lethal form of meningitis; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28812/05]

Liam Twomey (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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Question 168: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children when the booster vaccination in the second year of life to prevent haemophilus infection will be introduced; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28954/05]

Liam Twomey (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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Question 188: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children when the Health Service Executive took delivery of the Hib booster vaccine and when vaccination will begin; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28955/05]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 98, 168 and 188 together.

Haemophilus influenzae type B is a bacteria that can cause serious infections in humans, particularly in children, but also in individuals with a weakened immune system. Haemophilus influenzae type B bacteria is one of six haemophilus types. It can cause several diseases such as otitis media, or bacterial or viral infection of the middle ear, meningitis, pneumonia, septicaemia, epiglottitis septic arthritis, cellulitis and osteomyelitis. Known as Hib, it lives in the nose and throats of humans and is transmitted from person to person through respiratory droplets or contact with respiratory secretions. The bacteria may be carried around in the nose and throat for a short while or for several months without causing symptoms, in an asymptomatic carrier.

Liam Twomey (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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Is this a medical lecture?

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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In some individuals, particularly those most at risk, Hib will invade the body causing invasive disease.

The Hib vaccine was introduced into Ireland in 1992 and since then babies have been routinely immunised at two, four and six months of age. There was a dramatic decrease in the number of Hib cases from 100 per year in the late 1980s to ten cases or less by 2002. Although a slight increase in total Hib diseases has been seen since 2003, the total number of cases in children under 15 years has only increased slightly. There were seven cases in 2002, ten in 2003, nine in 2004 and 11 up to September of this year.

Most of the cases were in non-vaccinated children up to 2004. The priority was to improve the vaccination uptake. A recent cause of concern has been the steady increase in the number of children developing Hib disease despite full vaccination, referred to as the Hib vaccine failures. From 1996 to 2003, one to four children each year developed Hib despite full vaccination. This rose to six in 2004 and there have been ten cases this year to September.

The national immunisation advisory committee has been keeping the position under review. A letter on 28 July recommended that the Department implement a catch-up campaign for children from six months to four years of age as soon as possible. In addition, the advisory committee will recommend a booster dose of Hib vaccines as part of the primary immunisation schedule in the planned new additions to the guidelines. The Health Service Executive announced on 20 September that it made the introduction of a campaign an urgent priority. It will commence its introduction as soon as possible.

The campaign is due to be launched in November 2005. It will be implemented on a phased basis over six months, phase 1 to cover children aged one year and not yet two years, phase 2, children aged two years and not yet three years, phase 3, children aged three years and not yet four years. Children becoming 12 months of age during the campaign will also be offered the vaccine. A portion of the vaccine has already arrived and will be distributed to general practitioners.

An initial letter will be forwarded to general practitioners in the coming week advising them of the phased implementation. Further letters will issue at the commencement of each phase of the campaign. A letter will be issued to all parents and guardians of children in each of the phases inviting them to attend for vaccination. Information leaflets for parents and health professionals have been compiled and will be circulated prior to the commencement of the campaign. Public awareness initiatives will also be organised at the commencement of each phase of the campaign.

Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)
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I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive reply, much of which was not requested. It was an interesting lecture in the background to the issue. Can I have the attention of the Minister of State?

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy had and has my undivided attention.

Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)
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While 48,000 doses of the booster vaccine will be available this October, 180,000 children need it. The immunisation committee is concerned by this. It wrote to the Department in July but this is the amount we are informed about now. Rather than concentrating on extraneous items, how soon will those 180,000 children be provided for? Has the Health Service Executive received the additional funding of €10 million needed to protect these children? The Minister of State is aware the issue received much media attention because a child died.

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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Correspondence was written on 28 July 2005 and the Chief Medical Officer in the Department received it on 3 August 2005. The Department then took the matter up with the national director of population health in the Health Service Executive, referring to the recommendations of the national council and requesting that appropriate action be taken to provide an effective level of community protection. On 16 August 2005, the assistant director of population health to the Health Service Executive wrote to the Department and confirmed the Health Service Executive was keen to implement the recommendations and that planning for this had commenced on 6 September.

The Department reaffirmed to the Health Service Executive that the allocation of resources for this priority public health initiative was a matter for the Health Service Executive having regard to its contingency fund and the 2006 Estimates process. The executive announced on 20 September 2005 it had made the introduction of the campaign an urgent priority and will commence its introduction as soon as possible. This is the history of the Department's involvement in the matter. I have outlined the basis of the campaign which will be launched in mid-November and will be on a phased basis of six months, starting with the relevant categories of children.

Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)
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There are 48,000 doses available now. Within the six months of the campaign, will full cover be provided and accessed by the children in question? Is that what the Minister is saying? A campaign can be many things. I am asking about the release of vaccines.

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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As I understand it a portion of the vaccine has already arrived.

Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)
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Is that the 48,000 doses?

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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Yes. The rest is ordered.

Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)
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When will it come? That is not much comfort to those not among the 48,000 to receive the vaccine.

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The purpose of the six-month campaign is to cover all the relevant categories.

Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)
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Campaigns are one thing. I asked about the delivery of vaccines. There are problems with vaccines in other areas. All I want to know is when the Government will have the full complement.

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I will have to communicate with the Deputy on that matter. I do not have details of when particular consignments of vaccines will be delivered.

Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)
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I would be grateful if the Minister of State would.

Liam Twomey (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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The Minister of State has issued a tender for the vaccines. There has been the usual delay of 25 days, although it might have been 52 days had it been a normal tendering process. He has not, therefore, taken ownership of even one of the vaccines yet. That is the problem. A great deal of misleading information has been given. The long story the Minister of State told leading up to this gives a good indication of what is happening.

The Health Service Executive had no intention of purchasing any of these vaccines in 2005 because of a lack of funding. The Minister of State's chronology explains what went wrong. There was a public outcry before 20 September and then suddenly the HSE announced it would get the vaccines as soon as possible. Even up to ten days before that it had no intention of doing so. I know because I was on a radio interview with the same person from the HSE who said the executive did not have the resources for that year. When the publicity built up the resources suddenly became available. That is the truth.

The nub of the question is when the Minister of State will take delivery of the vaccines. Protracted negotiations have meant there are no vaccines to give to children who are most at risk from the disease this winter. They need a booster in their second year. The history of what happened is not important. We just need to get the vaccines and start vaccinating children, especially those who are most vulnerable in this winter season.

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I provided full information to the House on the question in so far as I could. I do not believe the content of an answer in those circumstances should be the subject of the kind of criticism the Deputy initially made. The purpose of answers to parliamentary questions is to give information to the House and that is what I did. It was certainly not an attempt to obscure any issue. The Deputy is wrong to suggest that no vaccine has arrived yet. My information is that a portion has already arrived and the balance will be delivered early next year.

Liam Twomey (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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Is the Minister of State saying that the 48,000 vaccines are in the cold chain at this moment, ready to be delivered to doctors' surgeries to give to children?

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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A portion of the vaccine has already arrived in the country and will be distributed to general practitioners. That is what I am saying to the House. The balance will be delivered in the spring. I gave the full history of correspondence between the relevant national council, the Department and the HSE which shows that decisions were not taken on foot of any radio discussions the Deputy might have been involved in.

Liam Twomey (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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It was not just me. I was told in a radio interview there were no resources this year to implement this programme. There was a complete U-turn within two weeks.

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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As the correspondence makes clear, the HSE is provided with a contingency fund. It plans from year to year and takes part in an Estimates process every year. As the Deputy is well aware, the sum voted to that body is very substantial and gives it some creative choice to meet emergencies that arise. That is why we have a Health Service Executive. I have no evidence that at any stage funds available to the HSE were insufficient.