Lynn Ruane (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for attending and for his ongoing work in his brief in the Department of Health. However, I would like the Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, to make an effort to come to the House in future. In the previous Seanad, the attendance record of Ministers with particular briefs was very poor and we will be pushing for them to attend the House. That is not a reflection on the Minister of State who is welcome.

My Commencement matter relates to the HPV vaccine. The reason I raise this issue today is that for some years, there has been contention surrounding the vaccine, including misinformation and campaigns that have caused huge concern about it. This has negatively impacted on uptake rates and the impact on disadvantaged communities has been much more significant than on other communities. This could be for a number of reasons, including inadequate access to information and peer reviewed research and to professionals who could be asked appropriate questions on the safety of the HPV vaccine.

I was surprised to learn in recent weeks that although we have a brilliant campaign and brilliant efforts and public messaging around the safety of the HPV vaccine, there is no scope for parents and children who change their minds and respond positively to that campaign to access the vaccine. Children who do not get the vaccine in their first year at school are excluded from the vaccination process unless the fee of €700 can be paid. Disadvantaged communities have had the biggest drop in uptake of the HPV vaccine. Should families respond positively to the public messaging and campaigns around the vaccine, they are basically excluded from a whole area of health and health equity, affecting their future health prospects.

In the 2019-20 academic year, the programme was extended to boys, which is a positive development. However, I believe the length of time that boys receive the vaccine is much longer than in the case of girls. A 2014 study in the Irish Medical Journalfound that disadvantaged schools had a 6% lower mean uptake rate of the HPV vaccine than other schools and were twice as likely to have an uptake rate of below 50%. The 2019 annual report of the Health Protection Surveillance Centre states that the national uptake of stage two of the HPV vaccination programme, which involves the completion of a two-dose course, was 64.1%, which is a slight increase on the 50% figure in the 2014 study.

On receiving adequate information, some parents in my community, including some of my friends, approached the HSE and asked that their daughters receive the HPV vaccine along with first-year students. These girls could be in third or fourth year, but the requests were refused. The parents then approached their general practitioners and were told that because GPs do not stock the HPV vaccine, a €700 fee would be payable in order to access the vaccine. As Senators can imagine, not many families have €700 to spare, particularly those in disadvantaged communities. I would like the Minister to reassess this policy and create avenues that will allow parents who positively engage with the HPV programme to access the HPV vaccine for their children, free of charge, while they are still in second level education.