Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 March 2008
332 Deputy Brendan Howlin asked 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]
View answerThe 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.
