Vol. 555 No. 2
111 Ms O. Mitchell asked the Minister for Health and Children when the long promised and urgently required refurbishment of the Central Mental Hospital will take place; if his attention has been drawn to the Dickensian and inhuman conditions for both patients and staff which pertain at this national facility; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17911/02]
I am aware that conditions for both patients and staff at the Central Mental Hospital are unsatisfactory at present. Since 1999, over €500,000 has been spent on refurbishment of the old Victorian building. However, there is an acceptance by all parties that a more substantial redevelopment is required at the hospital. In December, 2000, the East Coast Area Health Board, in conjunction with the Eastern Regional Health Authority, the Department Of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, and the Department of Health and Children established a group to review the future role of the Central Mental Hospital.
The group was set up to advise on proposals for the future of the Central Mental Hospital in the context of national and regional services provided by the hospital, linkages with community psychiatric services, linkages with the criminal justice system, legislation, the training role of the Central Mental Hospital for medical, nursing and paramedical staff and future accommodation and resource requirements. The group has now concluded its work and its report was submitted to the Eastern Regional Health Authority and the Department of Health and Children earlier this year.
The report includes plans to modernise, refurbish and extend the existing building and to provide a new residence on the campus. Overall capacity would increase from 90 to 120. I have accepted, in principle, the main thrust of the report of the review group and my Department is establishing a special project team, representative of all the main stakeholders, including the Irish Prisons Service, to progress the matter as quickly as possible.
