Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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To ask the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to concerns being raised by home helps with regards to their lack of contracts and conditions of employment; his plans to take action regarding same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41675/12]

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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To ask the Minister for Health his plans to ensure that there are standard contracts with detailed terms and conditions for workers in the home help sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41674/12]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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Contracts for home helps employed by external (non-HSE) providers are a matter for the individual provider. However, where external providers have service level agreements in place with the HSE it is a requirement of those agreements that the service provider would have appropriate contractual arrangements in place with their employees.

A national contract of indefinite duration for Home Helps employed by the Health Service Executive (HSE) was agreed in 2006 with the relevant trade union as part of the work of the High Level Group established to review Home Help Services. The contract was issued to all Home Help workers employed by the HSE at that time and to new recruits in the intervening years.

On 29 June 2012 following a related hearing, the Labour Court recommended that the HSE and SIPTU should engage in relation to matters concerning home help contracts. The HSE has engaged with SIPTU concerning the recommendation and its deliberations are on-going.