Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 114: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children the number of persons employed as home attendants in the Kildare and west Wicklow areas in the past three years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5727/05]

Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 115: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children the number of persons employed as home help assistants in the Kildare and west Wicklow areas in the past three years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5728/05]

Seán Power (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 114 and 115 together.

The Health Act 2004 provided for the Health Service Executive, which was established on 1 January 2005. Under the Act, the executive has the responsibility to manage and deliver, or arrange to be delivered on its behalf, health and personal social services. This includes responsibility for the provision of home help service. Accordingly, my Department has requested the chief officer for the executive's eastern regional area to investigate the matters raised and to reply directly to the Deputy.

Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 116: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children the number of persons in receipt of home help assistance in the Kildare and west Wicklow areas in the past three years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5729/05]

Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 117: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children the amount of funding from her Department regarding the home help assistance programme in Kildare and west Wicklow in the past three years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5730/05]

Seán Power (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 116 and 117 together.

The Health Act 2004 provided for the Health Service Executive, which was established on 1 January 2005. Under the Act, the executive has the responsibility to manage and deliver, or arrange to be delivered on its behalf, health and personal social services. This includes responsibility for the provision of home help service. Accordingly, my Department has requested the chief officer for the executive's eastern regional area to investigate the matters raised and to reply directly to the Deputy.

John Perry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Question 118: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children the reason the [i]ex gratia[/i] scheme in respect of payment deducted from those in publicly funded long stay care facilities is restricted to those who were alive on 9 December 2004; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5742/05]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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An ex gratia payment scheme was initiated by the Government as a goodwill gesture, as it believed that some form of repayment should be made to those with full eligibility who had paid long stay charges. Therefore, a decision was taken to make repayments to people with full eligibility who had paid charges and who were alive on 9 December 2004, the date on which the health agencies were instructed to cease charging.

My Department is currently studying the Supreme Court judgment in detail and will take on board all the consequences for policy and law arising from the judgment. The details of a repayment scheme to address the situation following the Supreme Court decision are currently being finalised.