asked the Minister for Health if it has been decided to close the sanatorium in Castlerea; and, if so, whether, in view of the serious unemployment which would result in the locality from such action, he will reconsider his decision in the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Castlerea Sanatorium.
No decision in regard to the closing of the institution mentioned has been taken and consequently the last part of the question does not arise at present.
As the Deputy is aware, St. Patrick's Chest Hospital at Castlerea is a temporary institution established, with the co-operation of the Roscommon County Council and the mental hospital authority for the Counties of Galway and Roscommon, to provide accommodation for T.B. patients, pending the completion of the Western Regional Sanatorium, Galway. The patients of the mental hospital authority who were accommodated in the premises before it was taken over for use as a chest hospital were transferred to other mental hospitals in the western region and, as these hospitals are now overcrowded, it is desirable that the Castlerea institution should revert to its original purpose as soon as possible. By reason of the development of the T.B. services in the region and the discovery of new means of treating patients who, without such new treatments, would have died, the accommodation in the regional sanatorium in Galway will not be adequateto meet immediately the entire needs of the area and it will probably be necessary to retain Castlerea as a chest hospital for a little longer than was anticipated, subject to the agreement of the authorities concerned. The matter is under investigation at present.