Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 294: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the number of bodies and agencies under her aegis; and her proposals for the rationalisation of same. [8199/10]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Independent)
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The number of non commercial State sponsored bodies established currently under the aegis of my Department is 24.

The primary aim of the programme of agency rationalisation within the health sector is to streamline service delivery, professional registration and policy making in a number of areas, through the integration and/or amalgamation of functions. The rationalisation programme involves a significant legislative programme and a considerable amount of work is ongoing in this area at present and considerable progress has been made in implementing the programme. In parallel, discussions with the agencies concerned is ongoing with a view to progressing the programme. The progress to date is as follows-

The Post Graduate Medical and Dental Board was successfully rationalised into the HSE on 1 January 2009. The National Council on Aging and Older People and the Women's Health Council were successfully subsumed into the Department of Health and Children in 2009. The Crisis Pregnancy Agency was subsumed into HSE in January 2010 and the Drug Treatment Centre Board is due to follow early in 2010.

Legalisation is required to facilitate the rationalisation of the Pre Hospital Emergency Care Council, the National Social Work Qualifications Board and the Opticians Board into the Health and Social Care Professionals Council. It is envisaged that the legislation will be finalised during 2010.

The Government approved the inclusion of provisions in the Child Care (Amendment) Bill 2009 to disestablish the Children Acts Advisory Board (CAAB) and to subsume some of its functions into the Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs on an administrative basis. The Bill was published on 16 September 2009 and it is expected that the Bill will be brought forward in 2010. It is intended that the CAAB staff will move to the Department on an administrative basis until such time as the Bill is enacted.

Legislation is already in place to facilitate the rationalisation of the National Cancer Screening Service into the HSE in April 2010 and arrangements are under way in this regard.

The dissolution of the National Cancer Registry and the transfer of its staff to the HSE will be dealt with under the Health Information Bill.

Legislative provisions for the dissolution of the National Council for the Professional Development of Nursing and Midwifery will be contained in the proposed Nurses and Midwives Bill.