There has been an increase in girls receiving the HPV vaccine.
According to the HSE, there has been a 15 percentage point increase in the provisional national uptake of the vaccine in just over a year.
This means that two in three girls (65 percent) are now protected against 70 percent of cervical cancers.
RTE reports that during the 2016/2017 period, the provisional national uptake had dropped to 51 percent among girls.
The HPV vaccine is currently available to girls aged between 12 and 13 in their first year of secondary school. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Minister for Health Simon Harris said they have plans to introduce the vaccine for boys from next year.
The Human Papillomavirus (HPV) virus causes 6,500 women in Ireland to need hospital treatment for pre cancer of the cervix every year.
Of these, 300 women will develop cervical cancer from the HPV virus, and 90 women will die.
Up to 30 men will also die from HPV related cancers which can cause penile, anal and oropharyngeal cancers.
