MINISTER FOR Health Mary Harney was accused of "an act of despicable cynicism" by announcing the "scrapping" of the cervical vaccination programme on the day of the American presidential election.
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said "it was expected that people would take no notice" of the decision to "shaft" the approximately €10 million scheme to vaccinate 10-12-year-old girls. He also criticised the publication yesterday of the report dealing with the misdiagnosis of cancer cases in the northeast.
Taoiseach Brian Cowen rejected his "perception of cynicism and pessimism". Mr Cowen said that "if that is a trait he wishes to pursue, it is a matter for him. It is a matter for us to continue to deal with a position that is as challenging for us as it is for other countries and to do so based on our belief and capacity to come through this period and return to growth as soon as possible."
Mr Kenny said he was reminded "of the incident in Britain a number of years ago when a famous remark was made that 'it was a good day to bury bad news".
He asked "why is there an intention to have pay increases of approximately €263 million next year when frontline services like this, which are so important for young girls, are being cut"?
The Mayo TD said the cancer vaccination programme, announced by the Minister in August, was to cost less than €10 million. "She stated it was clearly now a priority to move on to vaccination for young girls, with the clear intent of preventing death because 80 people may die from cervical cancer every year."
It was a "tiny" amount of money and "in the context of the long-term saving of lives, the Government's action is short-sighted." Figures showed there would be a saving of €2.7 million because of diseases avoided every year, Mr Kenny said.
He also said it was more than seven years since the issue of cancer services in the northeast was first raised.
Mr Cowen said the Minister had informed the Government on Tuesday about the northeast radiology report.
"The nine patients who had a delayed diagnosis were identified during this . . . review. The HSE has recognised the need to respond in a timely fashion when serious concerns relating to misdiagnosis arrive."
