(Limerick East): The Deputy will be very familiar with this case because it was a decision in her time as Minister for Justice that brought about the dynamic which resulted in these changes in respect of the location of the prison in Castlerea.
On 16 January 1995 the Department of Finance gave approval to the Department of Health for capital funding of £3.197 million, of which £1.5 million had already been approved in 1994, for the development of mental health facilities in Castlerea to replace those in St. Patrick's Hospital. The Department of Finance has made it a condition of approval that of the total £0.5 million should be sourced from the sale of surplus lands by the Western Health Board not later than 1996 and that £0.2 million be provided from within the board's allocation from the European Regional Development Fund for training workshops.The Department of Finance queried the necessity of siting central stores in Castlerea and proposed that unused space in the Sacred Heart Home, Roscommon, be converted for this purpose.
The Department also considered the Athlone day centre to be an avoidable development and queried the need for a contingency sum in the present climate. The Western Health Board was informed by the Department of Health of the Department of Finance decision by way of letter on 30 January last. That is where the matter rests. It was not an argument between the Department of Health and the Western Health Board, our friends in the Department of Finance were also involved.