The Government must introduce screening and vaccination to prevent cervical cancer, the Labour Party has said.
Labour Party health spokeswoman Liz McManus was responding to concerns about the delay in a decision whether to introduce a new cervical cancer vaccine for young women.
The vaccine for the disease, which kills around 70 women in Ireland every year, has been approved for use in Europe for about a year, but a specialist committee here is still deciding whether it should be made widely available. It is available privately at a cost of about €600 per dose.
In their programme for Government, Fianna Fáil and the Green Party committed to the introduction of the vaccine as a universal health measure if it is recommended by health experts.
"I fully endorse the concerns expressed by a member of the Government's National Immunisation Advisory Committee, Dr Kevin Connolly [today] regarding the delay in deciding whether or not to give the go-ahead to the introduction of a new cervical cancer vaccine," Ms McManus said in a statement.
"Cervical cancer rates have been growing steadily in this country at a rate of 1.5 per cent, while those in countries with national screening programmes, such as England and Scotland, have been falling by as much as 5 per cent per annum.
"Replying to questions in the Dáil on July 5th, Minister Harney said that it was her objective to have an effective national cervical screening programme rolled out, beginning late this year," Ms McManus said.
"However, she gave no time frame for the proposed roll-out, and this must be a matter of concern given that the Breastcheck screening programme is still not available all over the country."
Cervical cancer is treatable if it is caught early enough. Regular cervical smear tests can detect cellular changes that have the potential to become cancerous, and the disease usually takes many years to develop. However, women must present themselves for these tests voluntarily.
The Gardasil vaccine and a second vaccine called Cervarix, protect women against two particular strains of the human papillomavirus known to be connected to cervical cancer.
They would ideally have to be administered to young girls aged about 12 or 13 years, before they become sexually active.