Vol. 403 No. 3
11 Mr. Shatter asked the Minister for Health when additional places will be made available in Cheeverstown House, Dublin 16 for adult mentally handicapped patients; and the current position regarding the ongoing dispute relating to the use of the facilities at Cheeverstown House.
A formula to establish a positive working relationship between Cheeverstown House and the Eastern Health Board has been agreed. This agreement will enable Cheeverstown House to play a full part as a voluntary mental handicap agency providing services for people with mental handicap and their families in the Dublin area. Once the relationship provided for in the new agreement has been established, the way is opened to commission additional places in Cheeverstown next year.
I would like to express my personal gratitude, and that of the Minister, to the representatives of the Federation of Voluntary Bodies for people with mental handicap who acted as intermediaries between Cheeverstown House and the Eastern Health Board and gained agreement to the formula to resolve the dispute.
What formula has been agreed? Can the Minister indicate whether the 60 places that should have been allocated for residential mental handicap adults will be allocated in January or February 1991? Will he confirm that by the end of February 1991 the full facility provided at enormous expense by the State at Cheeverstown to at least partially meet the needs of the adult mentally handicapped will be operative? Will he acknowledge that, even if those 60 places are taken up, within the Eastern Health Board region about 430 residential places are required for adult mentally handicapped for whom there are no facilities and in the region of 430 also required for day care? What plans have his Department to ensure such places are made available?
Almost £2.25 million has been made available this year through the Eastern Health Board for services in Cheeverstown. As a result of long, delicate and protracted negotiations between the voluntary bodies, Cheeverstown and the Eastern Health Board representatives a formula has been agreed which ensures the resolution of the difficulties which existed there for a long time.
Answer the question.
What is the formula? The parents want to know.
The question did not ask for the formula.
We have been dealing with this for five years.
The formula has been agreed.
What is it?
Moneys have been provided and as far as we are concerned moneys will be provided for additional places in 1991.
Could I point out to the Minister——
A question.
May I ask the Minister to respond to the second part of the question in which he is asked to state the current position regarding the dispute? In the context of the amount of public moneys being spent on Cheeverstown, can the Minister tell the House what the formula is? How many places will be allocated and by what date next year? Will the full 60 residential places for handicapped adults be brought into service in the first couple of months of 1991 or are the majority of them to remain unused as we head through 1991 into 1992?
It is a simple question.
The Eastern Health Board have a statutory responsibility for administering services in their region.
How many places?
Cheeverstown House Ltd. are an agency of the board servicing the demands of the mentally handicapped in their area. An agreement has been reached as a result of negotiations. We are satisfied with the agreement and with the resolution of the dispute and we are further satisfied to provide extra funds to the Eastern Health Board so that extra places can be made available in Cheeverstown in 1991 to look after the mentally handicapped people in the area.
How many places will be provided?
Deputy Shatter is ignoring the Chair.
It is a disgrace.
Deputy Shatter will leave the House.
The Deputy should not point his finger at me.
The general public are entitled——
Deputy Shatter, resume your seat or leave the House.
On a point of order——
I will hear no point of order while I am dealing with disorder.
It is a disgrace.
Deputy Shatter, please leave the House.
How many places will be finally provided?
I will have to name the Deputy if he persists.
Will the 60 places be made available next year?
Deputy Shatter, leave the House or I will name you.
Will the Minister confirm that 60 places will be made available next year?
I must ask the Minister to move that Deputy Shatter be suspended from the service of the House.
I move: "That Deputy Shatter be suspended from the service of the House."
Deputy Shatter, now leave the House.
Deputy Shatter withdrew from the Chamber.
I wonder if I may ask the Minister what are the criteria agreed for access to the 60 vacant places at Cheeverstown and when we can expect all 60 places to be utilised.
The question did not seek that information. The criteria for admission to Cheeverstown are a matter for the administrators in Cheeverstown and the Eastern Health Board. We are very pleased that the difficulties at Cheeverstown have been resolved and we are committed to ensuring extra resources are made available so that extra places can be taken up in Cheeverstown in 1991.
Surely the Minister——
Order. I must bring this question to finality.
For five years——
Deputy Rabbitte——
The House should know——
Deputy Rabbitte, resume your seat. Deputy Fennell, a brief and relevant question, and likewise Deputy Ryan.
Will the Minister accept that this is the most grievous problem facing the health services, that the responsibility ultimately is on the Department of Health to resolve this problem, that it is wrong that parents have to parade on the street outside Dáil Éireann while there are 60 places still vacant in Cheeverstown——
I asked for brevity.
——and that this must be resolved?
The Deputy should realise that this problem has been resolved and we provided extra resources this year for the services for the mentally handicapped. We are also committing extra resources to the Eastern Health Board for Cheeverstown so that extra places can be put in place for 1991. The matter has been resolved only very recently. We inherited this problem and we are very pleased that it has been resolved.
Will the Minister agree that the terms of the agreement are not solely his prerogative and it is up to him to provide this House with the terms of that agreement? He is fudging the issue again.
A question please.
I asked the Minister to outline to the House the terms of the agreement.
He has only one question to answer.
The question did not seek the terms of the agreement. I have not the agreement available to me. If I had I would make it available to the House. If a Deputy, any Deputy or a number of Deputies want to put down a question on it we will make the information contained in the agreement available. It is not available to me, consequently I cannot give it to the House.
Is the Minister saying that after five years he does not know the content of that agreement? Parents with harrowing and heart rending stories have been waiting for five years for a resolution and the Minister comes into this House and says he does not know what the agreement is.
Deputy Rabbitte, I am going on to another question. I indicated that earlier.
