Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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Question 182: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children when zero hour contracts for home helps will come to an end; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12903/06]

Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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Question 183: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children when home helps will be issued with written contracts based on historic hours worked; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12904/06]

Brian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)
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Question 185: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children her proposals to make the pay and conditions for home helps more attractive to people in order that more home helps can be recruited in Waterford city and county to address the shortage in the area; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12907/06]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 182, 183 and 185 together.

The Deputies' questions on human resource management issues are a matter for the Health Service Executive under the Health Act 2004. Therefore, my Department has requested the parliamentary affairs division of the executive to arrange to have these matters investigated and to have a reply issued directly to the Deputies.

I recognise the valuable role of the home help service in enabling people who might otherwise need to be cared for in institutional care to remain at home where appropriate. I am 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. The group held its first meeting on 23 March and further meetings are scheduled.

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, to 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 wishes expressed by many older people to remain in their own homes for as long as possible.

Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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Question 184: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children when she hopes to have a comprehensive strategy in place for diabetes care. [12905/06]

Seán Power (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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The national diabetes working group chaired by the chief medical officer submitted its report to the Tánaiste last summer. The report addressed the epidemiology of diabetes, health promotion and prevention initiatives, including screening and models of care in terms of future service provision.

Specific recommendations included the development of population and high risk approaches to prevent diabetes; the development of podiatry services as a priority issue to prevent foot care complications; the introduction of a diabetic retinopathy screening programme to prevent eye disease; the development of a diabetes register; the setting out of a model of high quality care which describes what children and adults with diabetes shall expect to receive throughout their lifetime; the prioritisation and reflection of diabetes services in the national service plan of the Health Service Executive; the development of shared care or a model of care developed jointly between primary care and specialist services, which has been shown to be effective in diabetes prevention and in the management of complications; and the support of a planning and service delivery framework based on diabetes service development groups with management responsibilities for planning and delivering services and clinical activities such as the support of clinical networks and the application of protocols for better quality care.

The report, which was recently published on the Department of Health and Children website, was forwarded to the chief executive of the Health Service Executive in October 2005. The HSE is treating the matter as a priority and is putting in place a structure to implement the report's recommendations.