Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 448: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the number of home help employees employed by the Health Service Executive for each of the years from 2003 to date in 2007 in the Kildare/West Wicklow health area; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21055/07]

Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 449: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the number of home help hours allocated to the Kildare/West Wicklow health areas for each of the years from 2003 to date in 2007; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21056/07]

Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 450: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the cost of the home help system in the Kildare/West Wicklow area of the Health Service Executive for each of the years from 2003 to date in 2007; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21057/07]

Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 451: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the reason that home helps in the Kildare/West Wicklow areas of the Health Service Executive are not granted travel allowance as are their counterparts in other areas of the HSE; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21058/07]

Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 452: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the plans her Department or the Health Service Executive have or are proposing in relation to upskilling or training of home helps to ensure improvement in the services to senior citizens; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21059/07]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 448 to 452, inclusive, together.

Over 120,000 people work full-time or part-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 the Actual 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 to the Deputy.