Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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Question 144: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children if the Health Service Executive will be directed to treat home helps on a par with all other health service employees by granting them written terms of employment, eliminating zero hour contracts and by granting both patients and home helps enough hours to ensure a proper service prevails. [10048/06]

Pat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 185: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children if she will establish with the Health Service Executive when it proposes to give effect to the agreement with SIPTU in April 2005 on the issue of contracts to home helps where written contracts were to be issued based on historic hours worked; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10366/06]

Niall Blaney (Donegal North East, IND-FF)
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Question 210: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children if her attention has been drawn to the fact that despite Health Service Employers Agency concluding an agreement with SIPTU in April 2005 to end zero hour contracts and to issue home helps with written contracts based on historic hours worked, the Health Service Employers Agency has still not delivered and continues to be in breach of the Terms of Employment Information Act 1994 and subsequently 2001 and the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997; the action she intends to take to have this matter rectified; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10437/06]

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 214: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children if agreements and legal obligations to the home help service and to the members who provide that service will be honoured; and when the agreement reached in April 2005 to end zero hour contracts and issue home helps with written contracts based on historic hours worked will be honoured. [10454/06]

Paddy McHugh (Galway East, Independent)
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Question 228: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children if she will liaise with the Health Service Executive in order that agreements and legal obligations of the Health Service Executive in relation to the home help service are honoured; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10585/06]

Paddy McHugh (Galway East, Independent)
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Question 229: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children her views on the home health service and the agreement entered into with SIPTU in relation to zero hour contracts; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10586/06]

Paddy McHugh (Galway East, Independent)
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Question 230: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children when the agreement entered into with SIPTU in relation to zero hour contracts will be implemented in full; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10587/06]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 234: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children if her attention has been drawn to the fact that home help workers continue to be employed on zero hour contracts in breach of the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997; and if she has taken initiatives to bring this situation to an end which is in breach of the Government's own policies. [10609/06]

Willie Penrose (Westmeath, Labour)
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Question 248: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children if she will take steps to ensure that the home help service is properly funded and in particular that the home helps who provide the necessary service on the ground are afforded fair and reasonable treatment; and if she will take steps to instruct the Health Service Executive authority to honour it's agreement and legal obligation without further delay to stop treating the care of the elderly as an optional extra; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10690/06]

Brian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)
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Question 250: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children her proposals to address the concerns of home help workers (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10707/06]

Bernard Allen (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 251: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children when a proper contract of employment will be given to home helps which would include provision for a pension scheme and the elimination of zero hour contracts in view of the fact that it was assumed that negotiations regarding those issues would have concluded by December 2004. [10711/06]

Tony Gregory (Dublin Central, Independent)
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Question 254: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children when home helps will be provided with written contracts by the Health Service Executive agency as required by the Terms of Employment Information Act 1994 and the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10721/06]

Michael Lowry (Tipperary North, Independent)
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Question 266: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children her views on correspondence (details supplied); the steps she will take to remedy the matter; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10846/06]

Michael Lowry (Tipperary North, Independent)
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Question 267: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children her plans to enhance the home help service; if she will instruct the HSEA to implement the April 2005 agreement to issue written contracts based on historic hours worked; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10847/06]

John Cregan (Limerick West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 274: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children when the Health Service Executive will be issuing written contracts to home helps based on their hours worked as agreed in April 2005; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10898/06]

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Question 278: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children the situation regarding zero hour contracts where home helps are concerned; her plans to end zero hour contracts; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10917/06]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 144, 185, 210, 214, 228, 229, 230, 234, 248, 250, 251, 254, 266, 267, 274 and 278 together.

The Deputies' questions relate 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, the Department has requested the parliamentary affairs division of the executive to arrange to have these matters investigated and to have replies issued directly to the Deputies.

I am, however, aware that a high level group has been established, with representatives from the Health Service Executive and staff representatives from SIPTU and IMPACT, to address issues pertaining to the standardisation of home help services. This group is due to have its first meeting on 23 March 2006.

An additional €33 million full year cost was allocated to the home help programme in budget 2006, €30 million of which will be for 2006 with the remaining €3 million in 2007, which will enable the Health Service Executive to provide an additional 1.75 million hours nationally in 2006. The additional resource will further enhance the service and facilitate the expressed wish of many more older people to continue to live in their own homes for as long as possible.