Dan Neville (Limerick West, Fine Gael)
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Question 303: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the new services to be provided by the Midland Health Board in view of increased spending on suicide prevention and research of €336,000 in the area. [15654/04]

Tim O'Malley (Limerick East, Progressive Democrats)
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Responsibility for the provision of services rests with the Midland Health Board. My Department has asked its CEO to investigate the matter and to reply to the Deputy directly.

Denis Naughten (Longford-Roscommon, Fine Gael)
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Question 304: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if the current embargo on home help will be lifted by health boards due to the extreme hardship it causes to vulnerable persons. [15656/04]

Ivor Callely (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)
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I assume the Deputy is referring to the situation in the Western Health Board' s catchment area. My Department has asked its CEO to investigate the matter and to reply directly to the Deputy, as a matter of urgency.

Tony Gregory (Dublin Central, Independent)
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Question 305: To ask the Minister for Health and Children when the necessary funding will be made available for the opening of long-stay beds in Cherry Orchard Hospital, Dublin 10 so that elderly patients in St. James's Hospital, Dublin 8, can be transferred there. [15657/04]

Ivor Callely (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)
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The provision of health services in the Dublin 8 area is, in the first instance, the responsibility of the South Western Area Health Board. It acts under the aegis of the ERHA. My Department has asked the board's CEO to investigate the matter and to reply directly to the Deputy, as a matter of urgency.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Question 306: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the funding available to individuals who require urgent orthodontic treatment and do not have the means; if a person (details supplied) in County Kilkenny can avail of treatment as a public patient. [15658/04]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Under the Health Act 1970, only children are eligible for orthodontic treatment on the basis of defects noted at school health examinations carried out while attending national school. Tax relief is available in respect of orthodontic treatment costs obtained privately.

Responsibility for the provision of orthodontic treatment to eligible persons is the statutory responsibility of the health boards and authority in the first instance. My Department has asked the relevant board's CEO to investigate the matter and to reply directly to the Deputy.