Vaccination Programme
Dail Éireann — 2026-03-04
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Mary Butler (FF), Waterford

I thank Deputy Connolly for raising this matter in the House. Varicella is a common and highly infectious disease caused by the varicella zoster virus. This virus is associated with two distinct clinical syndromes, varicella, commonly known as chickenpox, and herpes zoster, commonly known as shingles. Primary infection with the varicella zoster virus results in varicella, after which the virus becomes latent in the body's nervous system. The virus may reactivate after a period, sometimes several decades later, resulting in herpes zoster or shingles, as we know it.
Currently, a non-live, recombinant shingles vaccine called Shingrix is available in Ireland and is administered as a two-dose vaccine. The national immunisation advisory committee guidelines state that the Shingrix vaccine may be considered in those aged 65 years and older, due to the greater burden and severity of disease and post-herpetic neuralgia in this age group and in those aged 18 years and older at increased risk of shingles.
It should be noted that in advance of any change in policy, the Minister can request that the Health Information and Quality Authority, HIQA, carry out an evaluation of the impacts of a potential policy change. HIQA has a statutory remit, under the Health Act 2007, to evaluate the clinical and cost-effectiveness of health technologies, providing advice to the Minister for Health on budget impact, organisational and social aspects and ethical and legal issues. These evaluations take the form of health technology assessments or HTAs. A HTA is a multidisciplinary research process that collects and summarises information about a health technology in a systematic, unbiased and transparent manner. The use of the HTA facility assists decision-makers in assessing the merits and potential shortcomings of a new health technology, policy or service based on accurate and reliable evidence.
The Minister for Health advises that following a request from her Department, HIQA carried out a HTA on the herpes zoster vaccine which protects against shingles. The HTA examined the evidence on the safety and clinical effectiveness of shingles vaccines. The cost-effectiveness and budget impact were also reviewed, in addition to the ethical, social and organisational implications of including the vaccine in the adult immunisation schedule. This is an area I know quite a bit about because I was Minister of State with responsibility for older people for four and a half years and I can remember dealing with it at the time. HIQA's HTA was published on 19 July 2024. The HTA found that including the shingles vaccine in the routine immunisation schedule, at the vaccine price at the time, for all adults aged 65 years and over would not be cost-effective and would have a substantial budget impact.
While the HTA found that the introduction of the shingles vaccine was not cost-effective based on the cost of the vaccine, it found that it could be cost-effective for vaccination of those at 75 years and 80 years if the price of the vaccine was reduced by 80%.
The healthcare budget is finite and this year alone we will spend €4 billion of the €28 billion health budget on medicines. Decisions regarding increased spending relating to a change in one area could impact the provision of other health technologies and treatments within the healthcare system, the cost-effectiveness must be considered in any decision-making process. The Department considered the findings of the HTA in 2024 and determined that the introduction of the vaccine could be reconsidered when the cost-effectiveness of the vaccine was confirmed as being more favourable. I will come back to the Deputy with more information.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-03-04/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:43+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-03-04