Linda Nelson Murray (Fine Gael)

I welcome Mr. Martin Hughes to his new role. Today I would like to speak about the importance of some vaccines that are now available. I will also speak about the HPV vaccine. Tremendous work is being done by the Department of Health under the Minister for Health, Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, and the HSE in rolling out the RSV vaccine. The RSV immunisation programme will run throughout winter 2025-26. The immunisation will be offered in maternity hospitals to all babies born between 1 September 2025 and 28 February 2026. It will also be available to babies who are aged less than six months old on 1 September 2025 to offer them protection ahead of the seasonal upsurge in infection with RSV.

RSV is the most common cause of hospital admissions due to acute respiratory illnesses in children aged under five years. This year's programme was developed following an evaluation of the first pathfinder programme, which ran successfully during the 2024-25 RSV season. The vaccine actually helped to reduce hospital rates by over 65%. I will give an example. My baby daughter was ten days old when she got the RSV virus. We spent ten days being looked after by the incredible staff in Crumlin hospital. Four out of every 100 babies will be hospitalised with this. She was very sick and it was so hard to get her oxygen levels up. At one stage she went completely blue in my arms. Savannah was lucky she survived it eventually. It is something I would not wish on any family. I urge the Department of Health to really push this out and to advertise it. I encourage parents to get that vaccine for their babies as it could prevent RSV, which can lead to pneumonia.

I would also like to encourage people to get the chicken pox vaccine, which has just become available. Nobody wants to see their children covered with all the little spots and scars, and it can lead to those who are in pregnancy and older people becoming very sick.

I thank the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, for making these vaccines available but, as someone who has had pre-cancerous cells myself following a smear, I would ask where we are with the HPV vaccine. Can I get the information on what the take-up is for the HPV vaccine in Meath?