Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the students and staff and thank them for being here. Democracy and politics are very important in every aspect of their lives. I wish them well in being here today.

I seek a debate on vaccines beyond Covid. This is World Immunisation Week. Ireland spends 0.2% of its health budget on immunisation. That figure would alarm and amaze all of us. If it does not, it should because, during the Covid pandemic, we have seen the importance of vaccine take-up. We have seen our success of our vaccine programme in the numbers who took up vaccination, in the way in which the immunisation programme worked and in the positive outcomes of the programme. Interestingly, the level of take-up of the flu vaccine in this country is lower than the European recommended level of 75%. The rate among healthcare workers is also lower than that recommended by the European Union. I ask for a debate on the issues of immunisation and vaccine hesitancy. The World Health Organization tells us that, in the context of global health, vaccine hesitancy is one of the top ten reasons for health issues in the world. During this very important week, we should reflect on the importance of vaccination and immunisation. We have seen the success of vaccines for HPV, measles, mumps and a list of other conditions for which vaccines have worked. I ask for a debate on the issue of vaccines and immunisation as a matter of urgency. It is an important debate to have. I commend Deputy Colm Burke on holding a briefing earlier in the audiovisual room.