asked the Minister for Health if he will state whether it has been decided to close the sanatorium at Castlerea, and, if so, the nature of his decision in regard to its future use.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Castlerea Sanatorium.
As the Deputy is aware, the arrangement whereby the premises of the branch mental hospital at Castlerea were taken over in 1948 for use as a sanatorium pending the completion of the regional sanatorium at Merlin Park was a temporary one. The regional sanatorium is now nearing completion and the transfer of a number of patients to it from Castlerea has recently taken place. No decision to close the Castlerea institution has been taken and the question of its future use is still under consideration.
Would the Minister not agree that within the next three months all the patients in the Castlerea Sanatorium will be transferred to Merlin Park and in view of that is not the time ripe to make arrangements for the alternative use of the sanatorium?
The Deputy can be assured that the matter is under consideration.
Could the Minister give any indication, in view of the anxiety felt all around the Castlerea area and the number of people who will lose their employment when the sanatorium is closed down, whether it will revert back to use as a mental hospital or whether it will be utilised for some other health purpose?
It is a wise thing to meet trouble when it comes.
The trouble is there now.