asked the Minister for Health when a director of mentally handicapped will be appointed by the Western Health Board.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Western Health Board Appointment.
1.
A major new mental handicap resource centre at Swinford, County Mayo, is currently nearing completion and will shortly be ready for commissioning. The question of appointing a director of mental handicap will be considered by my Department in the context of the overall staffing requirements of the new centre. I have indicated to the health board that I will arrange for discussions to take place between officers of the board and my Department to discuss the Swinford project in detail.
I welcome the statement that the appointment of the director will be considered in conjunction with the Swinford centre. Does the Minister not consider that it is vital to make this appointment as soon as possible?
I will be asking Comhairle na nOspidéal for their views on this and I will also consider the role of a director of mentally handicapped in relation to this project internally in the Department. Before the normal process of consulting Comhairle na nOspidéal can be put in train, I will have to speak to the health board about what exactly they wish to see in respect of the centre and the staffing implications.
Can the Minister indicate when these discussions will take place?
Almost immediately. The centre is due to be completed around the summer. I want to have a broad look at the Swinford project, the catchment area, who exactly the centre will serve, the overall staffing requirements and how it will be run. It is a major project.
Is the Minister saying that when the director of mentally handicapped is appointed he or she will be specifically for the Swinford region or will the director be for the whole Western Health Board area?
That question must be considered. Services for the mentally handicapped are delivered in the area by the health board and by voluntary bodies. I want to have a look at the general provision of services there. Swinford is an extraordinarily large project. It will cost in the region of £12 million and there will be several hundred places in it. I will be meeting officers of the health board almost immediately. A great deal has changed in mental handicap in the last five years.
Does the Minister recognise the urgent need for the appointment of a director of mentally handicapped for the Western Health Board region as opposed to a specific appointment for the Swinford area?
That must be considered. I want to talk to the health board about whether it will be for the health board area as a whole or simply for Swinford. I have an open mind on it and I hope the minds of those with whom I meet will be equally open.
Will the Minister give an assurance that the necessary funds will be available for this appointment to be made in 1985?
There would not be much point in having a director of mentally handicapped unless the large number of staff who would have to be employed would be working there. Far more important is the question of who will go in there. Where is the catchment area? Who are the people who as of now would be transferred? What are the existing services in the area and how do they cope at present? These are major questions which I want to have a look at. I will give information to Deputies opposite about these questions when I receive it.
I asked the Minister if he would give an assurance that the necessary funds would be available to allow the appointment of a director of mentally handicapped to be made in 1985. The Minister did not answer that?
I do not know the cost of the staffing or the opening of the centre on either a total or phased basis. All I know is that one is talking about several million pounds.
For a director? The Minister is confusing my question with some other aspect of the mental health facilities. I am merely asking if he will give an assurance to this House that the necessary funds will be made available in 1985 for the appointment of a director and to enable him to carry out his duties.
I can give no assurances about anything. Those days are gone.
The Minister is not too sure that he will be there.
I will be here all right.
The Minister is very indecisive.
He is not committed to it.