Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 2 Nov 1993

Vol. 435 No. 3

Written Answers. - Helplines Operation.

Noel Ahern

Question:

120 Mr. N. Ahern asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the number of helplines which have ceased to function since the revised phone charges came in; if his Department has carried out an assessment of the cost effectiveness of these helplines; if he will give an estimate of the likely annual cost to keep these lines in operation; and if he expects pressure on other parts of the health service such as demands for institutional care or demands on health boards or doctors surgeries, as a result of the ending of these helplines.

Minister for Health (Mr. Howlin)

My Department would not as a matter of course be made aware of the various helplines which exist throughout the country. The information would be available to the various health boards in respect of their own functional areas.

The Deputy will be aware of the arrangement which Telecom Éireann put in place following the anouncement in the Dáil on 18 May 1993 by the Minister for Communications to allocate a special grant of £500,000 for voluntary organisations which provide helpline services.

My Department has been in touch with each of the health boards and there is no evidence of an increase in demand for services suggested in the Deputy's question.