The Minister for Health, Mary Harney, has told the Dáil that she hoped the cervical cancer vaccine would be introduced as soon as possible, maybe by 2010.
She was speaking in a special session on the Government's decision to defer the vaccination programme.
The Government's formal announcement that it was not proceeding with the vaccination programme due to the current economic situation was made on Tuesday.
Fine Gael's spokesperson for Children, Alan Shatter, was critical of the Minister's decision.
He said: 'The Minister's assertion that Budget constraints have necessitated the cancellation of the vaccination programme is short-sighted in the extreme.'
A spokesman for the Department of Health has said the estimated number of girls that would have been vaccinated next year if the cervical cancer vaccination programme had proceeded was 30,000.
The vaccine was to be offered to 12-year-old girls in primary schools from next September, at an estimated cost of under €10m.
The spokesperson said the costings were based on three doses of the vaccine for just 30,000 girls.
HSE wanted to wait for cancer vaccine
The HSE wanted to wait until 2010 to begin the cervical cancer vaccination programme, according to documents released to RTÉ News under the Freedom of Information Act.
The HSE had indicated this view to the Department of Health, before the Minister for Health announced in August that the vaccination programme would begin next year.
According to the correspondence, dated 4 August between Department of Health Secretary General Michael Scanlan and HSE CEO Professor Brendan Drumm, the HSE favoured waiting until September 2010 to roll out the programme.
This date was set to allow the HSE upgrade its information technology and to allow discussions with second level schools and parents about the vaccine.
On Monday, the HSE said it had submitted an implementation plan to the Department but at that point, the HSE was unable to identify funding to allow it proceed with the vaccination scheme.
