Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 250: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if she will reconsider her decision to postpone the introduction of vaccination for the prevention of cervical cancer in view of the fact that the amount of funding involved is relatively small in comparison to the potential benefits of that amount of expenditure having particular regard to the annual number of incidents of cervical cancer ending in death in many cases; if her attention has been drawn to the dismay, anxiety and erosion of confidence that her actions to defer the treatment has caused; if she will seek advice from health professionals with a view to allowing the scheme to proceed as planned; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41644/08]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Because of the need to prioritise the use of public resources in very challenging economic circumstances, I have had to make difficult decisions in the context of competing health priorities. In relation to cervical cancer specifically, my immediate responsibility is to women in Ireland who have already been exposed to HPV and who may already have precancerous changes or undetected cervical cancer. Vaccination is a long term investment which will only be offset by improved health outcomes and treatment savings in 15 to 30 years in the future. All of the clinical advice available to me suggests that investment in the national roll-out of the cervical screening programme should be my number one priority. The National Cervical Screening Programme, CervicalCheck is being fully implemented this year at a full year cost of €35m.

I am fully committed to keeping the introduction of a HPV vaccination programme under active review in future funding decisions as we proceed to implement the National Cancer Programme.