Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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Question 640: To ask the Minister for Health and Children when the position of director of midwifery at Cork University Hospital will be filled; if the position will be independent of the director of nursing at CUH; her views on the concerns of midwives in the Cork area that if the position is not independent and without its own budgetary control, it will hamper initiatives to extend midwifery led care into the community, may create a situation where midwives could be moved to the general wards when the hospital is busy and undermines the assurances that the new maternity unit will have self governance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43946/06]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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Almost 120,000 people work full-time in our public health services. In recent years, the Government's ongoing high level of investment in health has achieved and maintained significant increases in the number of doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals employed in the public health services. The Government has also invested heavily in the education and training of such personnel in order to secure a good supply of graduates to provide for the healthcare needs of the population into the future.

Subject to overall parameters set by Government, the Health Service Executive has the responsibility for determining the composition of its staffing complement. In that regard, it is a matter for the Executive to manage and deploy its human resources to best meet the requirements of its Annual Service Plan for the delivery of health and personal social services to the public. The Executive is the appropriate body to consider the matter raised by the Deputy. My Department has requested the Parliamentary Affairs Division of the Executive to arrange to have the matter investigated and to have a reply issued directly to the Deputy.