Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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1060. To ask the Minister for Health his views on the fact that a group (details supplied) has lodged a complaint to the EU Ombudsman regarding the poor quality of EMA research regarding HPV vaccines. [20384/17]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Immunisation is regarded as one of the safest and most cost-effective of health care interventions and the importance of vaccination is acknowledged by all the major international health organisations. The World Health Organisation estimates that up to 3 million lives are saved each year as a result of vaccination and the scientific evidence is clear that benefits of vaccines outweigh the known side effects

The immunisation programme in Ireland is based on the advice of the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC). NIAC is a committee of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland comprising of experts in a number of specialties including infectious diseases, paediatrics and public health. The committee's recommendations are informed by public health advice and international best practice. All relevant and appropriate information is taken into account when deciding to make changes to the State's immunisation programmes.

The Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) is responsible for monitoring the safety and quality of all medicines that are licensed in Ireland. While no medicine is entirely without risk, the safety of vaccines, as with all medicines, is carefully monitored and any new evidence concerning side-effects is taken into account. The HPRA and the European Medicines Agency continually monitor adverse events to vaccination.

Unfounded, false claims have been made of an association between HPV vaccination and a number of conditions experienced by a group of young women. It appears that they first suffered symptoms around the time they received the HPV vaccine and a false connection is being made between the HPV vaccine and the onset of these symptoms. There is no scientific evidence that the HPV vaccine causes any long term illness. However, this misinformation has led to a significant drop in uptake rates of the HPV vaccine. This means that a large cohort of girls is now at risk of developing cervical cancer later in their lives.

Misinformation is causing real harm to those unvaccinated children and adults who develop vaccine preventable diseases, and to people who seek inappropriate treatments for real conditions that are not caused by vaccines. Any parent who has doubts or questions about vaccination should talk to their family doctor, or alternatively to visit the National Immunisation office website. These sources of information are clear and accurate and will answer any queries you may have about the benefits or risks of vaccination. Vaccination is the best way for parents to make sure their children are healthy and protected from preventable diseases.

In relation to the issue referred to by the Deputy it concerns a complaint made by the Nordic Cochrane Centre concerning the EMA. The EMA is a decentralised agency of the European Union (EU) responsible for the scientific evaluation, supervision and safety monitoring of medicines developed by pharmaceutical companies for use in the EU. It would be inappropriate for me to comment on any complaint made by a third party concerning an EU agency.