The provision of health centres to meet the needs of local communities and the maintenance and upgrading of such centres within its functional area is a matter for the relevant health board or the Eastern Regional Health Authority, ERHA. In the case of Millbrook Lawns health centre, Tallaght, Dublin 24, this responsibility rests with the ERHA.
I have been in contact with the ERHA and they have informed me that Millbrook Lawns health centre currently provides a comprehensive range of services including public health nursing, development clinics, dental, speech and language therapy, community welfare, home help, social work, and addiction services. Pre-school services are also provided from this centre.
A number of improvements have been made to the health centre since 1999, including the internal and external painting of the premises. Additional offices have been provided for use by community welfare and Barnardos. The fire alarm system has been upgraded and the ceiling has been substantially improved. The speech and language therapy service has been relocated to a different area within the centre. Essential health and safety improvements have been made in the last year. Improvements to the electrical system have also been carried out. A health and safety audit, conducted in November 2002 noted significant improvements since the previous inspection and further recommendations from this recent audit are being actively addressed. It is planned to relocate the addiction services before the end of 2003. The authority has informed me that they will continue to ensure that the conditions in the existing heath centre are maintained to the highest standard possible for the effective delivery of services.
Further re-development of the centre is a priority capital project for the ERHA. My Department fully appreciates the importance of progressing such developments and will continue to work closely with the authority in relation to prioritising their overall capital needs in line with the funding resources available under the NDP.
