Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 9 Mar 2000

Vol. 516 No. 2

Written Answers. - Child Care Services.

Jan O'Sullivan

Question:

117 Ms O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health and Children the plans, if any, he has for high support and special care units for at risk children in health board areas other than the Eastern Health Board; the timeframe for the establishment of these units; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7334/00]

Minister for Health and Children (Mr. Martin)

The health boards currently provide over 60 high support-special care places for non-offending children in need of special care or protection. Plans are under way to develop additional places nationally as follows. In the Eastern Regional Health Authority area, the construction of a special care unit providing 24 places at Ballydowd, Lucan, commenced in January 1999. It is anticipated that this unit will come on stream in the summer of this year. Planning of a 24 bed high support unit which will be built at Portrane is at an advanced stage. It is anticipated that this unit will be ready by autumn 2001. The Midland Health Board, the North-Eastern Health Board, the North-Western Health Board and the Western Health Board are co-operating to provide 12 high support places on a single campus. A site has been acquired and a project manager and a project group has been put in place to develop the proposal. Places being developed in the other boards are as follows. Some 20 high support places and a special care facility with 5 places for adolescent boys in the Mid-Western Health Board; three high support places in the South-Eastern Health Board and five high support places for boys and an additional two places in a special care facility for girls in the Southern Health Board. These places are due to become available during 2000 and 2001.

My Department has conveyed approval to proceed with all of these developments and has provided the required funding.

The senior managers resource group comprising representatives from each of the health boards and my Department, which was established in October 1998, continues to meet at regular intervals to monitor the overall development of these services.

The Deputy will also be aware that I announced recently that a new interim body on special residential services for children convicted of committing offences and children who have behavioural problems and are in need of special care and protection is being set up. This new body will advise the Ministers for Health and Children and Education and Science on co-ordinating the delivery of services and on the development and provision of educational and other programmes in health board special care facilities and in those facilities run by or under the aegis of the Department of Education and Science for offending children. The special residential services board provided for in Part 11 of the Children Bill, 1999, will take over the interim body's responsibilities when the Bill becomes law.