Shingles Vaccination Programme: Motion
Seanad Éireann — 2026-02-05
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Mark Duffy (FG), Labour Panel

I thank the Minister of State for being here for this Private Members' motion. In particular, I thank Senator Conway for leading on it. I welcome all the guests in the Gallery who are here to listen to the debate.
I raised this issue on the floor of the Seanad last year. Unbeknown to me, a day previous, Senator Conway had a Commencement matter on it. I raised it having been contacted by the Bonniconlon Irish Countrywomen's Association, ICA, group in my home county of Mayo whose members are very passionate about seeing this brought to pass. It is only since I spoke on it and discussed it with Senator Conway and members of the community who have contacted me about it or people I have met who have unfortunately had shingles and experienced the debilitating nature of it that it has really brought home to me how important it is that we find a way to help realise this, especially for those who are vulnerable in our community and in our society.
We have to think about the opportunity cost of not doing it. Can we afford not to do it considering how Senator Conway has outlined that every €1 invested is actually worth €23? I understand that from the point of view of the impact it has on health services in the State, especially at this time of year when we have high waiting lists and a lot of our medical practices or hospitals are overcrowded. This is something that can help mitigate that in certain ways. It has a cost on the quality of life of people. The impact for families cannot be overstated. I would like to lend my support to it and thank Senator Conway for his advocacy on it. We should not have a situation where people, because of their social background or perhaps deprivation in certain parts of society, are potentially on a more negative health course in their lives because they are unable to afford a vital option of a vaccine like this. It is that option for people to avail of. I would really welcome as much support from my own party and the Government generally to hopefully try to get a resolution on this. It is very worthwhile and will improve health outcomes and the quality of life for all our citizens, especially our most vulnerable. I hope we can collectively achieve that.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-02-05/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:35+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-05