Gillian Toole (Meath East, Independent)
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587. To ask the Minister for Health the retrospective cost-benefit analyses of State vaccination programmes carried out in order to determine each annual campaign; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [67252/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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In Ireland, the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) carries out Health Technology Assessments (HTAs), as requested by the Minister for Health, which are used to help decide what health technologies (such as drugs, medical tests, medical devices, surgeries, healthcare re-organisation) should be used and funded in our public healthcare system.

A HTA looks at the clinical effectiveness, safety and cost of different health technologies. An economic evaluation is often undertaken as part of a HTA and it compares the costs and benefits of different choices to see which one is the best use of resources.

The information considered can also include organisational and social aspects, and ethical and legal issues. The information is collected and presented in a systematic, unbiased and transparent manner. These HTAs are a fundamental part of the decision making process when deciding to add a vaccine to the national vaccination programme.

HIQA has developed national guidelines explaining how economic evaluations in HTAs should be undertaken in Ireland. I understand from these guidelines that economic evaluations fall into two major categories: the first is a cost-effectiveness analysis (including cost-utility analysis) and the second is a cost-benefit analysis. The guidelines note that in practice, cost-benefit analysis is rarely used in healthcare because of the difficulties of expressing health benefits directly in monetary terms.