Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Question 185: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if there are individuals or groups who may receive the cervical cancer vaccine on the GMS or without charge in some other way; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27175/07]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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There is a common list of reimbursable medicines for the General Medical Services and Drug Payment schemes. This list is reviewed and amended monthly, as new products become available and deletions are notified.

For an item to be reimbursed, it must comply with published criteria, including authorisation status as appropriate, price and, in certain cases, the intended use of the product. In addition, the product should ordinarily be supplied to the public only by medical prescription and should not be advertised or promoted to the public. Products are considered for reimbursement on application by a supplier. Only drugs and medicines which are licensed for dispensing in a community pharmacy, on foot of a doctor's prescription, would qualify for reimbursement under the scheme. As the cervical cancer vaccine would require a clinical administration, it would not meet the criteria for reimbursement.

The most effective strategy for the prevention of cervical cancer requires decisions based on an assessment of the relative contributions of Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccination and cervical screening in reducing the burden of both existing and projected cervical pre-cancerous changes and cervical cancer. Issues to be examined include the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of the vaccine for different age groups and for differing levels of screening provision and uptake.

As is being done in other jurisdictions, Ireland is now considering the potential role of HPV vaccination in addressing the problem of cervical cancer prevention. The National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC) has recently undertaken a scientific assessment of the public health value of HPV following a request from my Department. NIAC and the National Cancer Screening Service (NCSS) agreed that this work needed to be complemented by a study of the cost effectiveness of the vaccine in the current Irish context. Accordingly, both organisations requested that the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) undertake this study.

One of the key functions of the Authority is the assessment of health technology, drugs and health promotion activities. When I have received the policy advice from HIQA and NCSS I will make the necessary decisions that arise from the advice. A quality assured population based cervical screening programme aims to reduce cervical cancer in Ireland by approximately 80%. The NCSS has confirmed that it will have such a programme in place from January next year. A national cervical screening programme will still be required regardless of a decision on a HPV vaccination programme.