Vol. 396 No. 3
209 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Health the provisions, if any, which have been made for the accommodation of severely disturbed children at present accommodated at St. Paul's Special School, Dublin, in view of his promise in Dáil Éireann they they would be accommodated in Lucan or in Lusk by the end of 1989; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
In my reply to a previous question put down by the Deputy (Official Report of 18 May 1989, col. 681), I indicated that the Eastern Health Board had expected that the proposed facilities to be located in the Lucan and Lusk areas would be ready by the end of 1989.
My Department and the Eastern Health Board have been in discussion with the authorities of St. Paul's Hospital, Beaumont, and with representatives of the Friends of St. Paul's regarding the provision of facilities for autistic and severely disturbed people in the older age group. A package of measures which will meet the service needs of autistics in the northern sector of the Eastern Health Board has been agreed and I am providing the necessary capital resources to enable the required facilities to be put in place. The Eastern Health Board is at present in the course of planning the new accommodation and it is intended to finalise this process as quickly as possible so that construction work can commence at an early date.
As part of the package of measures agreed, it had been the intention that a unit for disturbed autistic people would be located at Lusk. However, accommodation chosen for this purpose is no longer available to the Eastern Health Board and an alternative property is being sought by the board as a matter of urgency.
