I remind the Minister and the Minister for Health and Children that in 1998, amid great fanfare during a by-election in Dublin North, £13 million was announced for the provision of proper facilities for the mentally handicapped in St. Ita's Hospital, Portrane. This money was to be used to provide specially designed bungalow accommodation both on the campus of St. Ita's and off campus at a site in Oldtown. The Oldtown facility to accommodate 30 clients has been completed since September 2000 but, to date, no one has been moved from the inadequate facilities in St. Ita's into this new facility.
There appears to be ongoing negotiations with the staff. I cannot understand why such negotiations could not have been carried out in parallel with the building programme so that now some of the mentally handicapped clients in the hospital could be in the new premises. Progress on the bungalow complex in St. Ita's, alas, is non-existent. Even after three years of the announcement of that money, planning permission has not yet been sought. This accommodation will allow for 60 more people to be moved out of totally unsatisfactory accommodation, unsatisfactory both for the mentally handicapped and the staff who care for them. Even when the 90 places come on stream, there will still be 180 people for whom new accommodation is not planned. Will the Minister give a firm commitment that money will be made available to commence planning and provision for new facilities for the remaining 180 mentally handicapped people in St. Ita's Hospital.
During the February storms, the hospital was without electricity for two full days because of power cuts. The old generator which could have provided a back-up service broke down, leaving the hospital without light, heating or cooking facilities for almost ten hours. It is a scandal in 2001 that the Minister and his Department cannot ensure the most vulnerable patients in our health system are not left without the most basic of human needs. Staff living locally went home to boil kettles so patients could have a hot cup of tea.
I am asking the Minister for a commitment to provide a new modern generator to the hospital so that this kind of lack of service will not happen again. The campus of St. Ita's accommodates 280 mentally handicapped people and 230 psychiatric or mentally ill patients, plus 800 staff with a further 150 staff working off campus but attached to the hospital. At Easter 2000, the main kitchen was closed down by the environmental health officer as being unsatisfactory and temporary kitchens were set up. Progress has been extremely slow in providing a new kitchen complex. I was informed today that it will be a further six months before a planning application is lodged. What is happening in the Minister's Department, that everything to do with the provision of updated and modern facilities for the hospital seems to take forever?
I pay tribute to the staff in all areas of St. Ita's for their fortitude and delivery of services to the patients despite all the difficulties. I call on the management of the hospital, the health board and the Minister to take every step possible to expedite the planning stages of the work and provide the necessary resources to bring St. Ita's Hospital, Portrane, County Dublin, up to the standard expected in the 21st century. It is a scandal that some of its facilities can be described as Dickensian.
