Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Cathaoirleach for taking this matter, which I raised on the Order of Business some weeks ago. I am also grateful that the Minister for Health has taken the time out from his busy schedule to be with us.

I want to put on the record straight away that, in the context of this motion, I am not calling for a suspension of the vaccination programme. What I am looking at, however, are those mothers and their daughters - specifically a growing number of daughters in this country - who, in my opinion, are not being treated in a holistic manner for the traumatic physical and mental side-effects that have hit them, coincidentally or otherwise, within a couple of days of receiving this vaccination.

We are also here today in the shadow of High Court proceedings that are being taken by the mother of a girl who received the HPV vaccine. She is asking for an order restraining the Health Products Regulatory Authority, HPRA, which monitors health products in Ireland, from proceeding with the use of gardasil in any vaccine programme.

She is also saying that within 24 hours of receiving the vaccination in October 2011, her 11-year-old daughter presented with severe flu-like symptoms. Her daughter became extremely fatigued and suffered severe nausea which led to weight loss and muscle wastage. Her daughter also missed days at school, was hospitalised with bilateral pneumonia the following year, and was on antibiotics for six weeks.Her daughter is now disabled to the point that she needs to be cared for on a permanent basis. This was reported in yesterday's edition of The Irish Times. I cite that example as one of the many that can read on the website of REGRET, a support group set up by a group of parents. There is growing concern internationally about the use of gardasil, which I hope the Minister will acknowledge. To date, Japan has suspended its vaccination programme. Denmark has asked the European Medicines Agency to review the vaccine and it has been decided that the Danish child vaccination programme will switch from using gardasil to cervarix. A presentation has been made to the Scottish petitions committee on the points that I have made and it has been asked to accede to a request for a round-table discussion to be held at Edinburgh between scientists and medical professionals from both sides of the HPV vaccine safety debate.

According to Merck's own statistics, some 183 million doses of gardasil have been distributed worldwide. Using its clinical trial percentage, this means there could be more than 6 million girls around the world suffering autoimmune conditions that could influence their health for the rest of their lives. According to the World Cancer Research Foundation, in 2012, 528,000 cases of cervical cancer were diagnosed worldwide. This presents the question of whether it is worth the risk.

There should be some acknowledgement by the Irish health authorities that there is something medically wrong with over 100 girls who have now been identified by REGRET as having developed similar symptoms within days of receiving the vaccination. The medical establishment and the Department of Health have decided against having any discussion or investigation of this. They say it will happen anyway and that every medication and vaccination has side effects and this is within the tolerable level. When one looks more deeply, there are parents spending huge sums of money on trying to get treatment for their daughters and there should be some recognition of the financial crisis that many of them face as a result of this. They genuinely believe that it is as a direct result of the vaccination.

Everything I have said so far on the record is factual. This is not about scaremongering. The Danish Government has given 7 million kroner for an independent investigation, the Japanese have suspended its use, and an evaluation of gardasil and cervarix by the EMA has been initiated by the French Government. These are not isolated cases. There is a growing body of international opinion that suggests that something is wrong somewhere. HPRA is engaged in the current EMA evaluation. I hope there will be some recognition by the Irish health authorities of the trauma being suffered by these children and that they get some financial benefit. They could be granted medical cards, which has happened in the case of other conditions in previous years. There should be some recognition that there is something wrong somewhere along the line. The parents genuinely believe that it is a direct result of the HPV vaccination.

I reiterate that this is not about a suspension of the programme but an acknowledgement that there is something going on. The Irish health authorities should not turn their face away from a growing body of international opinion that is beginning to acknowledge that there is something there. We should join that growing chorus. I do not believe it will go away.