Brian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)
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Question 74: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children her proposals to ensure that a sufficient number of speech and language therapists are trained to meet current national needs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8450/06]

Brian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)
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Question 97: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children her proposals in regard to the crisis in the speech and language therapy service; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8451/06]

Tim O'Malley (Limerick East, Progressive Democrats)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 74 and 97 together.

As the Deputy may be aware, intensive efforts have been undertaken to improve staffing levels in speech and language therapy in the public health service. The success of these measures has contributed to an increase of 162 speech and language therapists, or 42% over the number employed at end-December 2000, and reflects significant increases in the numbers employed in promotional grades. There were 548 whole-time-equivalent speech and language therapists employed in the public health service at end-September 2005.

In addition, three new speech and language therapy courses commenced in the 2003-04 academic year in UCC, NUIG and UL. In total, these courses provide an additional 75 training places in speech and language therapy. This expansion in training numbers was identified in the Bacon report as sufficient to meet the long-term demand-supply balance for speech and language therapists in Ireland. The first graduates from the two-year Masters course in UL completed their studies in June 2005. The first graduates from the BSc courses in UCC and NUIG will graduate in 2007.

The aspect of the Deputy's question in relation to the management and delivery of health and personal social services is 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 aspect considered by the Health Service Executive and to have a reply issued directly to the Deputy.