Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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Question 332: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of civil servants in his Department who have attended courses on stress management in the workplace between 2005 and 2007; if stress reduction procedures have been put in place arising from attendance at such courses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10604/08]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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The number of civil servants in my Department who have attended courses on stress management in the workplace between 2005 and 2007 was 1054, broken down as follows:

2005:164

2006: 640

2007: 250

Employee welfare is a high priority for my Department and stress management courses and talks, provided by the Department's Staff Development Unit and its Employee Assistance Service, form part of a range of activities undertaken by my Department under its programme of Health Promotion initiatives.

The Employee Assistance Service provides comprehensive information, advice, support and a referral service for a wide range of personal and work related problems. Other health promotion initiatives, including stress management and reduction, undertaken by the Department include: making available to all employees a subsidised comprehensive Health Screening programme in 2005; promotion of physical and mental health awareness through support for fund-raising events organised by organisations such as AWARE and the Irish Cancer Society; the circulation of information on the Nutrition and Health Foundation's Workplace Wellbeing Campaign and the provision of information leaflets on a range of health issues such as heart, blood pressure and cholesterol. In addition, my Department's HR intranet site provides access for all employees to a wide range of health and welfare information in electronic format.