Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 1 Jun 2022

Vol. 1023 No. 2

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate

Ukraine War

Deputy Pat Buckley

I thank the Minister for his presence. We know there is a crisis but I do not know how many times I have come into this Chamber and said that we are reactive more than proactive. Since I represent east Cork, I will specifically stick to east Cork when it comes to Ukrainian families. I do not like to call them refugees because they are not refugees. It is a war-torn conflict, but they are families.

My issue is that I have conflicting reports from volunteers and hotel owners about how these families are being treated. I have heard rumours of four different families being put into one holiday home. I do not know where issues like health and safety and children’s rights are coming into that.

I need to know if any Department, including the Minister’s, has a go-between for me, as a public representative, to go to east Cork and say that I need to meet Mr. or Mrs. X on behalf of concerned local people, Ukrainian families or hotel owners and to whom I can address the issues. We know it is all about the spondulicks. It is all about the money, which is a big issue. We are starting to pit local communities against each other.

There is also an issue where, specifically looking at the likes of Youghal, which is a tourist town, the hotels have been fully booked because of the iron man race coming up and it has caused much conflict. While I understand there is another conflict in Ukraine, there are other locations such as St. Raphael’s Centre, Youghal, which is HSE-owned, so basically Government-owned, and therefore does not cost anything to put families into.

The biggest concern I have from what I am hearing on the ground is period poverty, because many of these people are mothers with children. I have talked to volunteers who are running shops and their biggest outgoing is soaps and shower gels. I cannot get clarity on who is supposed to supply all of these. Obviously, mental health has not been mentioned and all of these families are traumatised. Again, transport is an issue. Many of these are outside Youghal in Redbarn, which I think is about 8 km outside. There is no mention of transport to get the kids into school or get families into shops to even get clothes. The list is endless.

I raise these points because the people who are coming to me are extremely frustrated. I also am extremely frustrated because I am only taking the word of mouth of hotel owners, guest owners or people on the street and I need clarity. I need to be able to go back and say, for example, that from next week or the following week, a Department will have put in place a liaison officer that I, as a public representative and others can approach and raise these issues with and ask whether they have been addressed. I did not want to bring it up here; I do so out of pure frustration. We hear all of the great things that are happening outside of this House but when you go out and see the devil in the detail, many of these people are being mistreated. I cannot even get answers to or proof of what is actually happening to these families.

Finally, there are great volunteers and a fabulous community who have supplied everything from clothing to knitting needles, toiletries, as I mentioned, and pots and pans. Who is responsible for all of these? I find it ironic that people staying in a hotel have to look for soap to wash themselves. Is there a possibility of getting some liaison officer from the Department that others and I can work with in east Cork to get the answers for all the concerned people?

Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (Deputy Roderic O'Gorman)

I thank the Deputy for raising these important issues. As he knows, of the more than 33,000 Ukrainian displaced persons - which is the term I use rather than "refugees", because it is my understanding that is the term they prefer - who have arrived in the country, more than 23,000 are being accommodated by my Department in short-term accommodation. Within my Department, international protection accommodation services, IPAS, has contracted over 18,000 beds across hotels, hostels, student accommodation, guest houses, bed and breakfast accommodation, commercial self-catering accommodation and other repurposed settings, as well, of course, as accommodation pledged by the public, student accommodation, holiday homes and State-owned or private properties that may be suitable for short-term accommodation. Given the continuing challenge of the numbers of people arriving, sourcing suitable accommodation can continue to be a challenge. In seeking to address the immediate accommodation needs, the safety and security of our displaced persons are the paramount consideration. In light of the continued significant numbers of people coming into the State and the additional numbers that may arrive, my Department is contracting all forms of suitable accommodation in all areas of the country, including in Cork. A dedicated team in my Department is focused on the provision of accommodation to Ukrainian refugees.

My Department is working very closely with the County and City Management Association, CCMA, to identify short-term options to meet the continued demands for accommodation. The CCMA has worked with local authorities to prepare emergency accommodation for use if there are sudden spikes in the numbers arriving. Refugees have been moved into this emergency accommodation at times when the number of arrivals is particularly high.

As of 29 May, my Department has contractual arrangements in place with about 350 accommodation providers. In most instances, these providers either provide in-house catering or subcontract catering services, or vouchers for a local supermarket are provided where appropriate. My Department has a small number of facility management services in place with providers, which can include a catering element. Currently, the Department has secured four accommodation sites in east Cork for displaced persons from Ukraine. As the Deputy will appreciate, the scale of the influx of people fleeing the crisis in Ukraine is unprecedented. Unfortunately, mass catering on this scale will not be to everybody's taste or standard.

If individuals feel there are issues with the quality of the food provided, they should raise the matter in the first instance with the provider.

It is important to note much of the accommodation in the east Cork area is self-catering, where people may choose and cook their own food once they are in receipt of social protection payments that they can apply for from the Department of Social Protection. In one specific hotel in east Cork, I am assured a welcome pack is provided to all residents on arrival, including hygiene and sanitary products. Should residents require hygiene and sanitary products in advance of receiving their State payment, my Department has advised accommodation providers to provide the products and that the State will reimburse the costs on evidence of receipt.

From the beginning of the crisis, newly arrived Ukrainians have been able to avail of free travel from their port of entry to their end destination on any public service obligation or Local Link service. In line with a whole-of-government approach, the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, and officials in that Department have been looking at bespoke public transport solutions. There are three key elements to this. They are speeding up the rolling out of enhanced Local Link services in parts of the country, where new Local Link services were meant to go in. Some of that is happening earlier. They are also looking at the provision of bespoke public transport services to some of these centres for accommodating Ukrainians that are more isolated. There is also the community transport fund, which is available for people to draw down for specific events.

I advise that the best point of contacts are community forums, which are shared by the local authorities and bring together the statutory and community agencies. These are the forums where specific matters are best raised in the first instance.

Deputy Pat Buckley

I thank the Minister for the reply. I welcome the fact we now know there is a point of contact. The Minister mentioned quality of food; my comment was not about quality but quantity. I know the matter has been resolved but there was an issue with a buffet-style system where it was kind of like "stretch or starve". If the people were there in time, they got something to eat, but they did not if they came later. I know that has been dealt with, thanks be to God.

The crux of the problem is that many of these families are isolated from public transport routes etc. They are not totally isolated but there have been massive issues with getting into the local town, as I mentioned, and getting kids to school etc. At least I know now I can follow that up with the transport authority.

I will contact the local authority this week and I might touch base with the Minister again. As I said, this is not about pitting anybody against somebody else. These are isolated incidents but I do not want them to fester. The majority of people in all the communities have been exceptionally welcoming, as I noted. Some of these families have already got jobs, which is amazing, and many of them have very good English. We are a welcoming country. On this side of the House anyway we like to look after everyone, and it is not about colour, class, creed or religion when it comes to people living in this country.

I thank the Minister for his reply and I will follow up with him and his Department to let him know I get on with contacting the local authorities, specifically on the transport question. That seems to be a big issue. As I said, if I do not get a reasonable response from local authorities, I will be back to the Minister again.

Deputy Roderic O'Gorman

I thank the Deputy. He knows that the desire to look after everybody, irrespective of race, colour or creed, is shared by the Government as well. I am absolutely happy to engage with the Deputy and if there are difficulties, he knows where to find me. He can come have a word. As I stated, the community fora are up and running in counties all over the country and they are a good place to bring together the various statutory agencies.

The Deputy commented about this being all about money. We should remember that in the first instance, it is about providing security and shelter to Ukrainians. In this country we already have an undersupply of housing and we all acknowledge there is a housing crisis. In providing security and shelter to Ukrainians, we cannot rely on existing housing stock and we have had to go to short-term accommodation. We did that conscious that we did not want our response to Ukrainians to in any way interfere with the Government's existing response to the housing crisis. There is a cost to that but we recognise that will be a short-term cost. It may be for a year or perhaps two or three years but it will not be an ongoing cost. It is the best way so we do not put sectors of the community in conflict with each other. It is the right way to go.

As a consequence of all of this, I have always said that our response here is imperfect. This is a wartime issue and we are in the very lucky position that the bombs and shells are not falling in our country. It is nonetheless a major war closer to us than any of us have ever expected in our lifetimes. It will have an impact on every European country, including on what this Government can do in its focus. We must respond because we can see how people are dying every day in Kharkiv and other major Ukrainian cities. Our response to this, imperfect as it is, is nevertheless a recognition that people still feel safer here than they do in their own country, which is a terrible tragedy. We must support Ukrainians in enduring this for as long as the position remains as it is.

Housing Provision

Deputy David Stanton

I am happy the Ceann Comhairle's office selected this matter and the Minister of State is here to respond. I have been looking through the Housing for All local authority affordable housing delivery targets. The number is 189 for Cork County Council between 2022 and 2026, which does not seem very ambitious. In many other counties the number is higher and, for example, Fingal has a target of 981. Straight away, this raises the question as to how come there will be so few houses built in the Cork County Council area.

I also notice a number of applications have been made to the Department. There were four made in February. The most recent response I got from the Department, and the Minister of State might have something new to add today, is that the Department is still assessing these. As they cannot move on until that is done, why is it taking so long? It is quite frustrating when we see first a low number and then the amount of time it takes for something to go through the bureaucracy to get clearance to start work on the houses. One cannot just flick a switch with this and the parties involved need to get planning permission, go for tendering, appoint a builder and all that goes with it. In the middle of that there may be objections to the building.

This brings me to a second point. I know the Minister of State is familiar with the Midleton area, where I am from, for all kinds of reasons. It has the N25 between Carrigtohill and Midleton, which is supposed to be upgraded. It is an extraordinarily busy road, with 30,000 car movements per day. It is very dangerous and there are some crossings across the carriageway that are very dangerous. There have been some accidents. There are slip roads into the carriageway that are very short and I have seen very close misses and accidents around them. The former Amgen site is at one end of it, with 64 ha of prime IDA Ireland land that cannot be used because the road is not fit for purpose. We are supposed to build 6,000 houses at another end of it in time.

A number of applications were made recently to build houses at the location but Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, objected because the road is not up to standard. Two of the affordable housing proposals are in that area and they will not go ahead either because the road is not up to standard. The Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, has blocked work on the road, which means all this planned housing is at risk. That will be a huge challenge.

The water supply plant for Midleton is at capacity and we are waiting for Irish Water to put down pipes and do a job on that. We are told it will be done by the end of next year, maybe, but again nothing can happen and we cannot build a doghouse in the town. Mitchelstown is in the same position until this is done. That is another constraint.

There are many such worries and constraints but at the same time I have people contacting me every day wanting to know how to get or build a house. There is a local authority home loan scheme, and this was raised yesterday evening by Deputy Colm Burke during Question Time as well. I support him in doing that as it is an extraordinarily slow and bureaucratic scheme. It is very frustrating as well. I know people with good incomes who have been refused on that scheme. Other people want to do up properties over a shop and they have been refused and so on. They are not told the reasons for the refusal. That must be sorted out too.

There are many issues that can and should be tackled. I ask the Minister of State to ensure that will happen so we can get this process moving.

Minister of State at the Department of Health (Deputy Mary Butler)

I thank Deputy Stanton for raising this matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien. He has asked me to pass on his apologies to the Deputy for being unavailable to take this matter himself.

The Housing for All strategy delivers on the programme for Government commitment to step up housing supply and to put affordability at the heart of the housing system, with an ambitious target of 300,000 homes to be built over the next decade, including social, affordable and cost-rental, private rental and private ownership housing. In the Housing for All policy from 2022 to 2026, the Minister has targeted more than 28,000 affordable homes to be delivered by local authorities, approved housing bodies, AHBs, the Land Development Agency, LDA, and through a strategic partnership between the State and retail banks.

Local authorities have been asked to prepare housing delivery action plans. To address affordable housing needs in these plans, each local authority was asked to assess the level of housing demand with affordability constraints projected for their areas based on the housing need and demand assessment, HNDA, tool, and to plan their provision accordingly. Local authorities with a strong and identified affordable housing need, including Cork County Council, were asked to prepare specific affordable delivery action plans. An identified high-level housing need arises where the HNDA indicates that, of the total projected need for housing in the county, more than 5% of new households will not qualify for social housing and will also be constrained in assessing housing by their ability to afford to buy or rent.

Through the various delivery streams it has activated, the Government aims to provide over 28,000 affordable homes by the end of 2026. Five-year delivery targets for local authority-led or arranged delivery were issued to relevant local authorities, including Cork County Council, for 2022 to 2026, amounting to just over 7,500 homes. In addition to the targeted local authority delivery, further affordable housing will be delivered by AHB cost-rental schemes, LDA schemes on State lands and via Project Tosaigh and the first home affordable purchase equity scheme, which will be launched shortly and available nationwide until 2026.

The targets set for local authority delivery are aligned with the level of affordable housing need arising in these areas and as determined by the HNDA tool. Of course, where local authorities, including Cork County Council, have identified a demand and can secure delivery of a higher number of affordable housing units in an area, additional delivery supported by the affordable housing fund, AHF, is welcome. The funding to assist local authority and AHB delivery of affordable housing for purchase and rent is made available by the Government, through the AHF, previously known as the serviced sites fund, SSF, and the cost rental equity loan, CREL, scheme.

The Minister's Department recently received four applications from Cork County Council, as Deputy Stanton said, for a subsidy to support housing schemes with affordable housing provision. Two of these applications are for sites situated in Clonakilty, and one each in Kinsale and Mallow. If approved, these projects will cumulatively assist in the delivery of 337 affordable houses, 277 of which will be for affordable purchase, while the remaining 60 will be cost-rental homes. The assessment process for these schemes is nearing completion and the Minister's Department will be writing to Cork County Council soon regarding these four applications.

One of Deputy Stanton's questions was why this process was taking so long. Housing delivery action plans are now being revised and updated by local authorities in light of the targets set and other ongoing engagement and clarifications. I expect these will be ready for publication by the local authority shortly. Cork County Council's plan will provide a comprehensive overview of the assessed need for affordable housing and projected delivery across County Cork.

Deputy David Stanton

I thank the Minister of State for her response. I highlight again, however, that these applications were submitted in February, some four months ago now. I am told that some clarifications were required regarding the applications, but it is still strange that it is taking this long for approval to be given. This is another delay, and I hope the process will be completed soon. What does "shortly" mean? Does it refer to weeks, months or whatever? Perhaps the Minister of State might use her good offices to make this happen.

I will restate the other issues I raised that the Minister of State did not respond to. I refer to the Irish Water constraints. These are of great concern. Again, hopefully, the people in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage will ensure that the work is done. It should be done much faster than it is being stated it will be. Anyway, it is supposed to be finished by the end of 2023, which will give people a target if they wish to build houses in the area.

The situation with the N25 concerns me a great deal. I spoke to people in the local authority and they are worried that all these ambitious targets the Minister talks about in the area, including the local infrastructure housing activation fund, LIHAF, etc., may not be realised because of the constraints impacting the N25 road infrastructure. It is already at capacity and under pressure, and dangerous as I said already. I was disappointed that the Department of the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, decided to pull the plug on that project, having spent €1.2 million on feasibility studies and consultants etc., to come up with a preferred route option.

These are important issues. People are crying out for housing, as we know. It is the number one issue in all our constituencies and there is an opportunity to address the issue in my area. We have the rail network to Midleton, which is fantastic. When that was established, the agreement with the county council was that the land on all sides would be zoned to make it feasible to have the population density to make this rail line work. The track is soon going to be electrified and trains will be coming to east Cork every 15 minutes, which is fantastic. If we cannot build houses, though, because of these other constraints, then we are going to be in trouble. Therefore, I again ask the Minister of State to use her good offices to get this process moving.

Deputy Mary Butler

I thank the Deputy again for the points he raised. I will pick up on some of the aspects mentioned, starting with Irish Water. We hear about these challenges, and I hear about them in my constituency as well. In fairness to the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, significant funding was allocated to Irish Water. I think it is €1.5 billion annually for the next four years to enable the company to address these issues. We must have the correct infrastructure in place, whether that is for wastewater or water supply, to allow housing to be successful. The provision of water services is a key enabler to allow any housing development to go ahead and we agree completely on this point.

Turning to the other issue regarding the N25, I know the road well. Living in a neighbouring county, it is a road we use often. I take on board what the Deputy said in this regard, and concerning the importance of being able to provide affordable housing and cost-rental homes for people in all parts of the country, but specifically in east Cork as the Deputy stated. The Minister takes this issue very seriously. I take on board what Deputy Stanton said and I will feed his points back to the Minister's office. Regarding the Deputy's question concerning why this process is taking so long, four proposals were made, as the Deputy said, in respect of sites in Clonakilty, Kinsale and Mallow, and, if approved, they will cumulatively assist in the delivery of 337 affordable homes, of which 277 will be for affordable purchase and the remaining 60 will be cost-rental homes. I thank the Deputy for his time.

Mental Health Services

Deputy Brian Stanley

I welcome the opportunity to address this issue with the Minister of State. The news of the planned closure of Erkina House came as a bombshell to the 12 residents, the staff and the local community. The facility is entering its 26th year of successful operation. It has been accepted by the local community right from the outset. The facility has demonstrated a stand-out, best practice way of doing things. There was no consultation regarding this closure and no appraisal. I acknowledge the intervention of the Minister of State in this matter. She intervened quickly and wrote to me on 6 May, after I and the other two local Deputies raised this issue. The Minister of State acknowledged the importance of Erkina House and stated that the decision had been put on hold. This is good news. The Minister of State also stated that there needed to be a proper consultation and appraisal process in this regard. This is the way it should be done. I acknowledge the Minister of State's intervention.

Regarding the HSE's rationale for this action, it cited the facility's rural location, the issue of public transport and the building's amenities. It was stated that some bedrooms were "small and located upstairs" and some of the shower and toilet facilities were partially inadequate. Let us deal with the matter of the location first. Erkina House - and I ask the Minister of State to come down and visit the facility if she is ever in Laois - is in the dead centre of a town with a population of just under 1,000. It is in the town centre and a perfect location. The facilities at Erkina House are excellent. There are fantastic gardens at the rear of the house. It was the old house that belonged to the nuns and it is a fine structure. There is a great deal of space around it. The post office and the shop are across the road. The residents of Erkina House are vulnerable people and they use all these local facilities. They go to the lovely town square, where there is seating and where they can sit and meet and talk with each other and local people. The residents go to a local establishment for coffee most days. That freedom is there. The newsagent's shop is around the corner. The health centre at Mooreville is just around the back, which is another health facility used by the residents. The community hall, which is also the bingo hall, is just down the road. I met the residents at a meeting there recently.

It is only 150 yd down the road. It is perfect.

Laois-Offaly mental health services are located in Laois, not Tullamore or Offaly, to where it is planned to move people. There is a Local Link bus for public transport but, let us be fair, the people in Erkina House do not travel too far or too often. Public transport has not been an issue. That is a bogus argument. The key point is that they have their freedom in order to mix and walk around the town. It is a small town. The locals know and look out for them. It is a plan of best practice.

Erkina House is a fine building. The whole back section was reroofed within the past year. My information is that up to €150,000 could have been spent on it. I will not argue about that, but I will point it out to the Minister of State. There is considerable interior space. If one went around Erkina House with a building inspector, I am sure faults could be found. Every building has faults, including the Minister of State's house and my own. I know health facilities have to tick all the boxes but there is considerable space in this building. It is a sound structure. The roof and other aspects are in good condition. Erkina House has the type of visiting rooms that Silver Lodge does not. Silver Lodge does not have the same space. Those are the facts.

With regard to upstairs in Erkina House, there is a lift in the Houses of the Oireachtas. All buildings have lifts now. We can fit a lift into Erkina House. In the context of some rooms not being en suite, one can buy en suite kit and fit them into those rooms. All of that can be done. This is not rocket science. It needs a little bit of refurbishment and some other work.

There is a plan to move residents 68 km to Arden Road in Tullamore where there are no facilities. It is on a busy road and does not have the same space. This is the key thing for these people's mental health. They will not have the same freedom. The Mental Health Commission looked at Silver Lodge. It found that there is no dedicated space for therapeutic activities in the centre, nor does it have a dedicated occupational therapist. In addition, not all bathrooms are ventilated. The commission also found other problems with it. Silver Lodge is not the silver bullet the Minister of State is talking about. Existing and new residents need kept at Erkina House.

Deputy Mary Butler

As the Deputy said, Erkina House is a high-support residence that provides a rehabilitation and recovery service for people with mental health difficulties. There are currently 12 residents in the house, which is situated in the village of Rathdowney, County Laois, in the Deputy's constituency. The first I heard of this matter was when Deputy Stanley, the Minister of State, Deputy Fleming, and Deputy Flanagan made contact with my office. The HSE was then in contact with my office on 19 April regarding the potential closure of the residence, a matter that was raised in local news. The HSE considers Erkina House to be unsuitable for modern mental health service provision.

As the residents' care and treatment are my priority, I have engaged with the HSE on numerous occasions since regarding this matter. It has agreed to place on hold the decision to transfer services from Erkina House, Rathdowney, to allow for a full option appraisal to take place. I understand the HSE contacted Deputy Stanley and other local Deputies directly on the matter. I ask that the Deputy clarify the position in that regard. I also ask that he clarify some issues reported in local media.

Prior to Covid-19, residents lived in shared, dormitory-style bedrooms. At the onset of the pandemic, bed capacity was reduced from 17 to 11 and then increased to 12 in 2021. Emergency measures were put in place to ensure that there was only one bed per room. However, shower and toilet facilities are shared and are considered very unsuitable. Erkina House also has limited access to community services and public transport. At the same time, I take on board everything the Deputy said about the residents being part of the community.

My priority, as Minister of State, is to develop our mental health services in order that those using them are provided high-quality, fit-for-purpose service. This includes residences that are modern and up-to-date places that offer comfort and privacy for all residents. This is an important point but I also take on board what the Deputy said about part of the building being reroofed last year. That would have been a substantial spend.

Mental health continues to be a priority for the Government, which is fully committed to the delivery of high-quality, person-centred and recovery-oriented mental health services. The long-term strategic aim is to provide a consistent, high-quality service. That is what we all aspire to. Community residences provide an important step-down service to enable rehabilitation and recovery of individuals and to assist them to move towards independent community living accommodation. This aim is supported by Sharing the Vision and Sláintecare.

The HSE recognises that Erkina House is an important service for Rathdowney and it met with the local community and politicians on 21 April to discuss the facility. The meeting provided all parties with the opportunity to express their concerns and present further options the HSE could consider in its appraisal process. I welcome that communication. The HSE has committed to the completion of a full option appraisal before a final decision is made on the future of Erkina House. It has assured me that all stakeholders, including residents and their families, will be consulted throughout the process. This appraisal is due to commence shortly.

I will continue to liaise with the HSE to ensure the care needs and preferences of the residents remain central during the appraisal process. However, I have to say that I, as Minister of State, was very disappointed that these issues were in the public domain before I, families, or local representatives had been informed. Only for the contact that local representatives such as the Deputy made to my office, I would not have been aware of it.

Deputy Brian Stanley

With regard to the information on Erkina House's closure, it had nearly happened without anyone knowing, including local Deputies and the Minister of State. I will deal with the line about Erkina House having limited access to community services and public transport. There is a Local Link bus. Residents do not go far. Normally, there is transport from within the facility. I outlined the local community services that the residents need. They need access to the local health centre and community hall. They need somewhere to go for a coffee, the town square, the post office where they get cigarettes, the shop and the Card Stand, which is the local newsagent.

I acknowledge the staff and the local community. The Minister of State knows that sometimes, when we go to put in a facility such as this in a locality, we meet opposition straight away. That did not happen in Rathdowney. I pay tribute to the people who were involved in setting this up, including the late Kieran Phelan. He was one of Fianna Fáil's Senators. It was a success story from the start. It is important that we acknowledge so.

The Minister of State is correct that residents have been accommodated in single occupancy rooms since the onset of Covid. Yes, there is an issue in that more en suite bathrooms are needed, but the Minister of State's office is dealing with disabled persons and housing adaptation grants every day through the local authority. This is not rocket science. We can do it. We are entering into a crucial period. I do not want to see somebody at a desk writing up bogus reasons as to why to close Erkina House. I want money spent well. I am with the Minister of State on that. I do not want money put into black holes. Erkina House is a good investment.

The HSE told us at the meeting that it wants four such ten- and 11-bed units in Laois and Offaly. Erkina House should be and certainly is one of them. It is in the middle of south Laois. It is perfect and has close access to Portlaoise where all the mental health facilities are. The one thing the residents all say to me is that they feel safe in Erkina House.

Deputy Mary Butler

I thank the Deputy for his impassioned plea with regard to Erkina House. I will be keeping a very close eye on the developments. The Mental Health Commission visited Erkina House on 15 January 2018. It made recommendations regarding the physical environment, policy development, multidisciplinary team access, individual care planning and medication management. I welcome the fact that the Mental Health Commission also has an interest in the premises.

The individual care needs of the residents of Erkina House remain at the centre of the decision-making process. That has to be remembered. The HSE has assured me that all stakeholders will be consulted in the appraisal process. We await the report and its outcome, but the Deputy should rest assured that I am keeping a very close eye on the situation in Erkina House in Rathdowney. I thank the Deputy for his continued interest.

Cuireadh an Dáil ar fionraí ar 9.50 a.m. agus cuireadh tús leis arís ar 10 a.m.

Sitting suspended at 9.50 a.m. and resumed at 10 a.m.