Gay Mitchell (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 175: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children the number of parliamentary questions tabled by this Deputy to her since June 2004 which were referred to the chief executive of health boards or the health service executive and to which he has not yet received a reply; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23848/05]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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Since June 2004, the Deputy has tabled 29 parliamentary questions concerned with matters which are properly the responsibility of the Health Service Executive, from I January 2005, and previously of the Eastern Regional Health Authority. It is the practice in my Department to forward such questions immediately to the agency concerned and to request that the matter be examined and a reply issued directly to the Deputy as speedily as possible.

The Health Service Executive recently established a parliamentary affairs division to act as a central contact for all Oireachtas requests relating to matters within its statutory remit. A key function of the division is to monitor, throughout the executive's national directorates and administrative areas, the timeliness of replies and to initiate any necessary follow up action relating to the issue of replies. In the time available, inquiries made by my Department indicate that replies have issued to the Deputy in most of the cases concerned and the remainder are currently being processed for the purpose of preparing replies. However, my Department has asked the parliamentary affairs division of the executive to ascertain the precise position in regard to the replies to the Deputy's questions and to write to him in the matter.