John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)

This arrangement was put in place with the HSE which clearly, given Deputy Ó Caoláin's situation, has not delivered responses in the manner anticipated. I will provide some of the relevant figures for Members.

As indicated earlier, the 2009 backlog is almost cleared. Up to 24 November the HSE had received almost 2,300 parliamentary questions for answer. Some 83% of those questions have now been answered. From January to July 2009, 1,409 parliamentary questions were submitted for reply, of which 614 or 44% were answered on time. As we speak, 96% of parliamentary questions received in the first half of the year have been cleared. From September to November this year, the percentage cleared on time rose from 44% to 57%. While those figures are not satisfactory there is a level of improvement in this area. A time limit has been agreed but the HSE has failed continuously to meet it. It is my intention to meet regularly with the HSE to try to improve, track and monitor the rate of progress in this regard.

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