Vol. 549 No. 2
102 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Health and Children his plans to review the role of the Council for Children's Hospitals Care; if he has received a request from the council to extend its term of office for ten years to help it complete its task; and his views on the request. [6171/02]
In 1996 my Department requested the chairman of each of the Dublin paediatric hospitals to undertake a review of the role of the hospitals in the delivery and organisation of paediatric services in Dublin. The report, which was presented to my Department in 1998, contained a number of proposals, including the establishment of a joint council comprising representatives of the three paediatric hospitals. The council's primary role is to assist the paediatric hospitals to work with each other and with the Eastern Regional Health Authority to plan and develop acute pae diatric services on a co-ordinated basis in the functional area of the authority. The council recently submitted its interim report for September 1999 to September 2001 to my Department. All aspects of the report including the role of the council and its tenure are currently under consideration.
