Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 295: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children the payments made on a county and individual basis to pharmacists through the GMS scheme for 2004 including the recipient's name and address. [24716/05]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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The Deputy's question relates to the management and delivery of health and personal social services, which are the responsibility of the Health Service Executive under the Health Act 2004. Accordingly, my Department has requested the parliamentary affairs division of the executive to arrange to have this matter investigated and to have a reply issued directly to the Deputy.

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 296: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children the details of payments made on a county and individual basis to doctors through the GMS scheme for 2004 including the recipient's names and addresses. [24717/05]

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 297: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children the position regarding the funding which was awarded to doctors on a county and individual basis through the indicative drug target saving scheme in 2004; the further position regarding the allocations of funding from this source or from the general practitioners drugs savings towards practice developments and improvements in County Mayo for 2004. [24718/05]

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 302: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children the reason information sought by the Deputy in a letter on 13 July 2005 from the General Medical Services (Payments) Board and from the Minister has not been supplied in view of the fact that this information was made available to the media on 7 September 2005; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24759/05]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 296, 297 and 302 together.

The Health Service Executive, HSE, was established on 1 January 2005 under the Health Act 2004. Under that 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 making of payments, including payments under the indicative drug target scheme, to contractors who hold contracts under the general medical services scheme to provide services for medical card holders, and for the collection and dissemination of such data. Accordingly, my Department has requested the chief officer of the HSE to investigate the matters raised and to reply directly to the Deputy.

With regard to the Deputy's request of 13 July 2005, my Department forwarded this to the HSE for attention. The HSE has indicated that at the time it received the request the information sought was not yet available, as it was being collated for publication in the General Medical Services (Payments) Board's annual report, which was published in September 2005. I understand from the HSE that the information sought has now been forwarded to the Deputy.