asked the Minister for Health if he will give sanction to the Southern Health Board to construct a home for the mentally handicapped at Gortroe, Fossa, Killarney, County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
164.
Written Answers. - Kerry Home for the Mentally Handicapped.
163.
asked the Minister for Health if he will provide the necessary moneys for a home for the adult mentally handicapped at Gortroe, Killarney, County Kerry in view of the fact that the Southern Health Board has agreed to spend the moneys from the sale of St. Catherine's Hospital, Tralee on the construction of the premises.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 163 and 164 together.
In the past few years there have been many changes in the observed needs of persons with mental handicap and in the services which are best designed to meet these needs. The Gortroe project was designed in the seventies and is not now in full conformity with these requirements.
I have asked the Southern Health Board to examine the needs of those mentally handicapped adults for whom the Gortroe project was intended and to establish the extent to which group homes located in the community would meet their needs. In the present economic climate, however, the establishement of this service will be dependent on a reallocation of existing resources within the Southern Health Board.