Jerry Cowley (Mayo, Independent)
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Question 305: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if her attention has been drawn to the fact that the work of the public health nurse has increased but the staffing levels have not; if her further attention has been drawn to the fact that their daily work consists of clinical work, dealing with home care for cancer patients, postnatal mothers and babies, terminally ill patients, child welfare and development clinics and weekend work; her views on whether additional services are urgently needed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31667/06]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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The work of Public Health Nurses is a key element in the delivery of community based health services. The determination of the level of service in any particular area and the related workforce planning is a matter for the Health Service Executive (HSE). At the end of June 2006 there were a total of 1,617 whole time equivalent public health nurses (1,912 individual public health nurses) employed by the HSE. This represents an increase of 8.6% since 1998 in the number of public health nurses employed.

In addition to public health nurses, care in the community is delivered by a mix of different skills and disciplines e.g. registered general nurses, home helps and health care assistants. Care provision at weekends is prioritised for emergency cases and public health nurses are compensated for call outs on Saturdays and Sundays.

Funding has been provided to the HSE for the establishment of 100 primary care teams in 2006. These teams, comprising a range of health professionals, will provide enhanced, integrated and accessible health services in the community. An additional €10 million has been made available to the HSE for the recruitment of an extra 300 frontline professionals to these teams this year.