Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 290: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children the number employed in the health services in 2004 and to date in 2005 and for the same period in 2004; the way in which that has grown since 1997; the way in which these numbers are distributed between programmes, general hospital, long-stay facilities, disability, mental health, community health, doctors, nurses, paramedics and so on and administrative back-up. [32922/05]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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Employment information is collected by my Department every quarter on the basis of grade and employing agency and does not include any data on a programme by programme basis as requested by the Deputy. However, employment growth in each of the grade categories of health service staff on the basis of employing authority that is, the Health Service Executive, intellectual disability services and voluntary hospitals, is as set out in the following table for the period requested by the Deputy.

The latest available data are in respect of the end of June 2005. Between 1997 and that date, there was an increase in the level of employment of 33,093, or 48.78%, excluding home helps, in whole-time equivalent terms. In this context, comparing employment levels in June 2005 with those in December 1997, there were 43.89%, or 2,177 more medical and dental personnel,127.8%, or 7,588 more health and social care professionals and 27.6%, or 7,545 more nurses employed in the health services in whole-time equivalent terms. Caution should be exercised in comparing employment growth between grade categories, however, owing to some changes in their composition over the period. Almost two thirds of health services personnel formally classified as management or administrative are involved in direct service provision to the public.