Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 November 2020
810. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the status and plans for advancing the central mental health hospital (relocation) Bill; the legislative timeline; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36864/20]
View answerDrafting of the Central Mental Hospital (Relocation) Bill 2020 is almost complete. When the Bill is finalised, it will be submitted to Cabinet for permission to publish, after which its passage through the Houses of the Oireachtas will be scheduled.
The current legal definition of the Central Mental Hospital links it to its Dundrum location. The Bill is a technical requirement to allow its relocation from the 1850 building in Dundrum to a state of the art, purpose built facility in Portrane. It is expected that the facility will open early in 2021.
The Bill is short and technical in nature. Its main provisions are:
- to provide for the relocation of the Central Mental Hospital from its current location in Dundrum to Portrane;
- to provide for the transfer of persons lawfully detained in Dundrum to Portrane, and to provide for transitional arrangements during that transfer;
- to provide for the closure of the Dundrum facility; and
- to provide for the repeal of section 39 of the Mental Treatment Act 1961 (this section renamed the hospital as the CMH and links the CMH to a Dundrum location).
To meet the timeline for relocating, the Bill will need to be passed in a timely way. We are fortunate in having strong cross-party collaboration across the Houses in relation to mental health, and Minister Donnelly and I would appreciate the cooperation of the Oireachtas in this regard. To facilitate and provide as much information as possible to assist with this, my officials have been liaising with the Library and Research Service in the Houses of the Oireachtas with information on this Bill, and will continue to provide updates. My officials will also be happy to provide briefing on the Bill as necessary.
