Minister for Health Mary Harney has said she expects to have a national cervical cancer screening programme rolled out by the end of this year.
Responding to questions in the Dáil today, Ms Harney said the National Immunisation Advisory Committee had been asked to make recommendations on the possible roll-out of an immunisation programme using the newly available vaccines known to protect against cervical cancer.
She said it would not be appropriate to administer the vaccines under the medical card scheme and that screening should be carried out on a "population basis".
Currently, there is a pilot cervical screening programme in place in the mid-west. Ms Harney said that scheme would inform the manner in which the new screening programme, and the full roll-out of the Breastcheck scheme, would be established. The new screening board established on January 1 stlast would roll out the plan for screening of women between the ages of 25 and 60, Ms Harney said.
With regard to possible vaccination, Ms Harney said that if such a measure was to be pursued for "nine, 10 and 11-year-old girls" then it should be done "through a schools programme".
Ms Harney said rolling out such a scheme on a "population basis" could not be done "overnight".
She also acknowledged the need to improve the facilities for screening smear tests. Some women's tests have recently had to be sent abroad because of a backlog of tests here. One clinic was closed down because of the "dubious results" in its screening, Ms Harney told the Dáil.
Fine Gael spokesman on health Dr Liam Twomey said in the Dáil the women of Ireland were being "let down" in relation to health screening and accused the Minister of "doing nothing" on the issue.
Two vaccinations against cervical cancer, Gardasil and Cervarix have recently been developed and licensed for use. Gardasil, is known to protect women against several strains of the human papilloma virus (HPV), including two that are linked with some 70 per cent of cervical cancers. It is given in three injections over a period of six months and currently costs around €600.
Women must currently attend GPs and clinics on a voluntary basis and pay for the smear tests that can detect early cell changes that may turn cancerous. Regular screening is not generally carried out before the age of 25 because it takes many years for abnormal cells in the neck of the womb to become cancerous and they can be treated if caught at an early stage.
There is a debate in Ireland and other countries over whether girls of school-going age should be given one of two new vaccines known to protect against cervical cancer. The suggestion that young girls be vaccinated before they become sexually active has proved controversial in other countries.