Lynn Ruane (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. It would be great for that issue to be brought back to the Department. The idea that the vaccine is most effective at the age of 12 or 13 is based, and I am open to correction on that, solely on the idea that any person after that age may become sexually active and would reduce the levels of impact. That is based on assumption. It seems that giving access beyond first year was more about cost-effectiveness rather than that the giving of the HPV vaccine at any age will have some effect. This may be based on the inaccurate assumption that anyone who is looking for the vaccine beyond first year has become sexually active.

I will be happy to further engage with the Ministers and the Department to remove the barriers so that when the campaigns do succeed in helping people to receive the proper information, it is not only those who are privileged enough who protect themselves against cervical cancer but that health equity should be for all. It should be a right and we should remove any barriers for anybody who has positively engaged with the Department of Health’s campaign to reverse the uptake statistics, which have gone down very poorly every year until this year. I thank the Minister of State.