THE GOVERNMENT has been urged to reduce the level of VAT on the cervical cancer vaccine from the higher to the lower rate.
The call came from Dr James Reilly, Fine Gael’s health spokesman, who said it would make it easier for parents to get the vaccine for their daughters in the absence of a State vaccination scheme.
The vaccine was meant to be given to all 12-year-old girls from September as part of a new nationwide vaccination programme but the plan has been deferred because of the cost involved.
“I continue to hope that the Health Minister will change her mind about the unconscionable cancellation of the national cervical cancer vaccination programme but at the moment parents are struggling to fund the vaccination for their daughters themselves. VAT on the vaccine is currently charged at 21.5 per cent which is adding substantially to the cost.
“I believe that this rate should be reduced to the lower rate of 13.5 per cent to assist those parents who are paying privately to get their children this life-saving injection,” Dr Reilly said.
The vaccine, which is most effective when given before girls become sexually active, guards against the most common, but not all, strains of the HPV virus which causes cervical cancer.
A spokesman for the Department of Finance said what it does on VAT is governed strictly by EU rules.