Vol. 401 No. 1
105 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Health the amount allocated to the Eastern Health Board for development of mentally handicapped services in 1990; if funding will be made available for continued support and development of these services; and if he will outline the long-term proposals for a co-ordinated approach on a national basis for the development and funding of these services.
This year approximately £40 million will be spent on services to people with mental handicap in the Eastern Health Board region. Earlier this year I allocated £1 million for the development of additional services. As a result, an extra 91 residential places, 184 day places and 66 outreach places are being provided to meet immediate priority needs. The full year costs of these additional services, which is £1.5 million, will be provided in 1991.
I have asked the eight health boards to prepare multi-annual plans in consultation with the regional mental handicap co-ordinating committees. These plans will be targeted over the next five years and will form the basis for the preparation of a national programme, to be implemented in accordance with the resources made available to me for this purpose.
