Unlike many other European countries, Ireland has chosen not to launch a program to vaccine young girls and women, prompting Glaxo, which sells Cervarix, and Sanofi-Pasteur, which markets Merck’s Gardasil in Europe, to fly in experts to talk to consultants and public health care professionals about the benefits of their HPV vaccines, according to The Times of London.

Ireland’s health department cited administrative costs as its reason for not proceeding. A spokeswoman for health minister Mary Harney tells the Times she is already convinced of the important role a vaccine program would play “as part of a cohesive response” to cervical cancer, but the “decision not to proceed at this point is not based on the scientific evidence, but is related to the need to prioritize scarce resources given the current state of the public finances.”

Glaxo, which hopes to meet with Harney, claims she cannot estimate the cost until after a competitive bidding process, and predicts the price will be much lower than the approximately $17 million quoted by the health department. Glaxo, meanwhile, is sponsoring a visit by Anne Szarewski, a clinical consultant at the Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine in the UK, who will meet with consultants and healthcare professionals. And last week, Sanofi sponsored a trip to Dublin by Margaret Stanley, a Cambridge University professor and an expert on cervical cancer.

“From the point of view of the medical profession, it is disappointing that the Irish government has decided not to go ahead with the program. I understand that the minister is under financial pressure, but it all comes down to priorities. If women’s health is a priority in Ireland, then the introduction of the immunization program should be,” Stanley tells the Times. “It is that clear cut.”