Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am not senior at all. I thank the ten Members of the House for their contributions on the Order of Business.

I begin by joining with Senators Gavan and O'Donnell in acknowledging the tragic accident this morning. Thankfully, there have been no fatalities. We wish the children and others involved in the accident every good health. As Senator O'Donnell said, it is important that we get the answers to what happened to cause the accident.

I share Senator Ardagh's views about the importance of vaccination generally and the HPV vaccination specifically. I am a former Chairman of the health committee and we held hearings on the HPV vaccine. It is important that we encourage all women to get screened and checked for cervical cancer. The vaccine has been recommended by the World Health Organization, the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics and by the National Immunisation Advisory Committee.

As Senator Ardagh correctly said, women are dying unnecessarily in some cases because they have not availed of the vaccine. I understand there is a lot of commentary and deeply held views on the vaccine and immunisation in general. I do not like to refer to terms such as "empirical data" because we are dealing with the health and lives of women but they show the vaccine works. The HPV vaccine protects women against seven out of ten cervical cancers. They are facts. The points made by Senator Ardagh are ones we should support. The Department of Health and the HSE are to the fore in promoting and advocating use of the vaccine but there is a duty on all of us to inform and advocate on this issue. I accept people have deeply held views on the matter and perhaps never the twain shall meet, but Senator Ardagh has done a service this morning because it is an important topic to raise.

The Minister of State, Deputy Catherine Byrne, was in the House before Christmas to discuss drugs. I offer my sympathies and those of the House to Mrs. Carmel Kidney on the tragic deaths of her three young sons. Drug abuse and misuse is something we must work collectively to eliminate from society. We have the national drug and alcohol strategy. The HSE, the Department of Health, An Garda Síochána and other cross-departmental and agency groups are working to ensure we have a strategy in place. Increased resources have been allocated. Senator Ardagh is also correct that we need to have a cross-party discussion on the matter and come up with an action plan without making a political football of it. I would be happy for the Minister of State, Deputy Catherine Byrne, to come to the House again to discuss the matter.

I join with Senator Mac Lochlainn in highlighting the importance of connectivity for all parts of the country. He made his contribution in the context of the national development capital plan. Senator Leyden also referenced it. It is important to recognise that it is a ten-year capital plan for the entire country. Senator Mac Lochlainn referred in his contribution to the north west. From my understanding, chapter 8 now includes reference to the areas he mentioned, namely, Donegal, Letterkenny and Derry, along with the importance of the regions.