Vaccination Programme
Dail Éireann — 2026-01-27
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Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (FF), Carlow-Kilkenny

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter in the House this evening. The Minister for Health shares his concerns about the protection of older adults against influenza. For those in recommended groups, the influenza vaccine reduces the risk of serious illness and death from flu. Ensuring high vaccine coverage is a priority in order to reduce severe illness from influenza, RSV and Covid-19 over the winter period.
Ireland’s immunisation programme is based on the advice of the National Immunisation Advisory Committee, NIAC. The committee's recommendations are based on the prevalence of a disease in Ireland and international best practice. NIAC routinely revises recommendations to facilitate the introduction of new vaccines and to keep on top of changing patterns of disease. Therefore, the immunisation schedule will continue to change over time. The vaccination programme provides a free flu vaccine to those most vulnerable to the impact of flu. Every year, the WHO reviews global surveillance data and recommends the specific strains that manufacturers should include in the season's vaccines based on the flu strains that are considered most likely to circulate. All licensed influenza vaccines included for the 2025-26 season comply with WHO and NIAC recommendations.
In 2024, HIQA carried out an enhanced flu vaccine health technology assessment, which found there were limited studies on the effectiveness of enhanced flu vaccines, along with a lack of data over multiple seasons. Due to the variability of seasonal influenza, a single study may misrepresent average vaccine effectiveness. Based on the limited data, the HTA determined that switching from a standard to an enhanced flu vaccine for those aged 65 and older was likely to reduce the burden of flu. However, whether such a switch would represent a good use of public money would depend on the price of enhanced vaccines when compared with the standard flu vaccine.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control reported overall low to moderate relative vaccine effectiveness for the enhanced influenza vaccine against laboratory-confirmed influenza-related hospitalisations. It concluded that evidence specific to the relative effectiveness of enhanced influenza vaccines when compared with standard vaccines was still limited and that further studies were necessary to allow more substantial conclusions on the potential benefits of enhanced influenza vaccines.
The HSE is responsible for the procurement of vaccines in line with EU and national procurement rules. It was asked to commence a tender process to determine if enhanced flu vaccines could be purchased at a cost-effective price and within its existing budget. It carried out an analysis of the tenders received and on 4 February 2025 advised the Department of Health that neither of the available enhanced vaccines for older people met the criteria set out in the HTA for net monetary benefit compared with the standard flu vaccine.
The HIQA HTA estimates that procurement of the enhanced influenza vaccines would cost between €4 million and €19 million per year. However, the actual costs remain commercially confidential and are not known until tenders are evaluated each year. Decisions regarding increased spending in one area could impact the provision of other technologies and treatments in the healthcare system. Therefore, cost effectiveness must be considered in any decision-making process.
It is important that the Department and the HSE adhere to the value-for-money obligation set out by the Department of public expenditure in relation to the efficient and effective use of public funds and resources.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-01-27/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:01:01+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-27