Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Health the measures taken by the Health Service Executive to implement Labour Relations Commission Recommendation No LRC20312 issued on the 29 June 2012 regarding to contracts for home helps; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46378/12]

Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Health in view of Labour Relations Commission Recommendation No LRC20312, the reason the Health Service Executive is currently allocating home help hours to a company (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46379/12]

Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Health in view of the fact the Health Service Executive has allocated more than 15,260 hours of home help to a company (details supplied) between 2011 and 2012, if he is satisfied that all home help workers employed by the HSE in County Donegal are currently operating at the full contracted hours as agreed between them and the HSE in 2009; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46380/12]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 681 to 683, inclusive, together.

On 29 June 2012, the Labour Court recommended that the HSE and SIPTU should engage in relation to matters concerning home help contracts and in the event that there are any outstanding issues they may be referred back to the Court. The HSE engaged with SIPTU concerning the recommendation and advised that as part of the process it would be undertaking an information gathering exercise to ascertain the up to date position regarding the nature of the contracts held by home helps and the hours worked under such contracts. This exercise is in train.

On 15 October 2012, having met with the parties again, the Labour Court has recommended that the parties should re-engage under the auspices of the Labour Relations Commission and that this engagement be completed by 30 November 2012. I have asked the HSE to reply directly to the Deputy in relation to the allocation and monitoring of home help hours to a private company in respect of the period indicated.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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To ask the Minister for Health if he will provide an update on interim arrangements for the Office of Disability Appeals and the position of Disability Appeals Officer; if he intends to restore the office as constituted under the Disability Act 2005; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46381/12]

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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To ask the Minister for Health if he will confirm when all completed determinations and reasons for decisions reports from the Office of Disability Appeals Officer will be made available for public inspection including any reports from the former disability appeals officer; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46382/12]

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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To ask the Minister for Health the amount that has been spent by his Department on legal costs in relation to establishing and operating the interim arrangements for the office of disability appeals officer; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46383/12]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 684 to 686, inclusive, together.

Part 2 of the Disability Act 2005 makes provision for the introduction of very specific obligations on the health services, including a statutory entitlement to:

- an independent assessment of health and education needs (Section 8);

- a statement of services (Section 11) which it is proposed to provide;

- an independent redress and complaints mechanism (Section 14) if required;

- make an appeal to the independent Disability Appeals Officer (Section 18).

The Disability Appeals Officer (DAO) is an independent officer appointed by the Minister for Health whose purpose is to provide an appeals service to people who wish to appeal (i) against a finding or recommendation of a complaints officer of the HSE made under the Disability Act 2005; or (ii) against the failure of the HSE or an education service provider to implement a recommendation of a complaints officer.

The Office of the Disability Appeals Officer (ODAO) was created to support the DAO in the performance of his/her functions. It should be noted that the Disability Act does not create an office which exists independently of the person who holds office and, accordingly, the ODAO is not a corporate body. Since 2007, the ODAO has successfully supported the DAO in providing the appeals service envisaged under the Disability Act. From 2007 staff from the Department of Health were assigned to the ODAO to assist the DAO in the performance of her functions.

Following the decision in October 2008 to defer further roll-out of Part 2 of the Disability Act for other cohorts, it became apparent that the ODAO did not have the volume of work originally envisaged and by 2011 there was an insufficient quantum of work to justify a full-time DAO position. The former Disability Appeals Officer resigned her position with effect from 31/12/2011 and my Department has been in discussions with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform regarding the filling of this post. As an interim measure, a Principal Officer on my Department’s staff has been designated to discharge the duties of the DAO and is independent in the performance of this function. This is a temporary measure only and a longer term arrangement will be put in place as soon as possible.

The provisions for parents wishing to make an appeal have not changed and appeals will continue to be determined in accordance with the provisions of the Disability Act. As part of its service the ODAO operates a Lo-Call phone line which is manned during normal working hours. The availability for public inspection of the Determination and Reasons for Decision Reports that are produced at any particular time by the DAO is a matter for the DAO and is outside of my remit. I am advised by the DAO that all completed Determinations are available on the ODAO website. I can confirm that an amount of €12,500 plus VAT in legal costs has been incurred by the ODAO since 1 January 2012.