Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I want to raise an issue related to CervicalCheck and the human papillomavirus, or HPV, vaccine. It is unfortunate that some of the people who were to the forefront criticising the HPV vaccine programme are now to the forefront in criticising the errors in the CervicalCheck scheme. Interestingly, two of the individuals concerned appeared on a television programme recently, yet neither of them replied to the questions asked about this very issue. It is not good to have people talk out of two sides of their mouths on health issues. On the one hand, supporting people without medical evidence to support what they are saying, and on the other hand, criticising every time an issue arises when not all of the facts have been brought to the fore.

On a positive note, there is a proposal to roll out HPV testing. I believe it is important that the scheme is brought forward. Cervical smear tests will be done in the normal way but the analysis will be conducted in an automated fashion and, therefore, the risk of human error will be completely removed. The testing has the potential to reduce false negatives by between 10% and 15% and increase the detection rate for cervical cancer by 30%. The Minister for Health has talked about the positive aspects of HPV testing. I ask the Leader to invite the Minister to the House so that he can outline the timeline for introducing HPV testing. I want the Minister to also ensure that we have enough skilled people in place in this country to roll out the scheme and that we fasttrack its introduction, thus restoring confidence in the health programme. I urge the Leader to give the issue an airing in this House at an early date.