Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 230: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children the reason a service (details supplied) was discontinued in County Mayo; when the service was last provided and the plans the Health Service Executive has to reintroduce it. [14948/06]

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 have this case investigated and to issue a reply directly to the Deputy.

Niall Blaney (Donegal North East, IND-FF)
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Question 231: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children the reason a public service, which has the structure and ability to provide a comprehensive home help service, is left under resourced while private companies are subsidised with grants from her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14949/06]

Seán Power (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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Additional funding of €150 million was allocated to services for older people and palliative care in the 2006 budget. Of this, an extra €33 million was allocated to the home help service, €30 million of which is provided for 2006 and will deliver 1.75 million home help hours. A sum of €55 million was also allocated to home care packages, €30 million for 2006 and a further €25 million for 2007, with an additional 2,000 packages to be delivered by the end of this year.

Home care, including the home help service, is delivered through the Health Service Executive, in partnership with a range of providers including the executive, voluntary groups and the private sector. This has long been a policy with regard to home care and there are no plans to privatise the home help service or give priority to private companies over public or other home care providers. The most important factor in delivering home care and home help is not who provides the service, but that an appropriate level of service is delivered in a flexible manner which is highly responsive to the needs of the individual. There is no reason private providers should not continue to work in partnership with the HSE to this end, as they have done in the past.