Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 3 Oct 1995

Vol. 456 No. 3

Written Answers. - Alcoholism Treatment.

Theresa Ahearn

Ceist:

68 Mrs. T. Ahearn asked the Minister for Health if he is prepared to include the treatment of alcoholism in Aiséirí, Cahir, County Tipperary, under the General Medical Service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13836/95]

Minister for Health (Mr. Noonan,

Limerick East): Aiseirí, Cahir, County Tipperary is a private residential facility which provides treatment for persons suffering from alcohol and other substance misuse.

The report on the development of the psychiatric services,Planning for the Future, which was published in 1984 and which has been accepted by successive Governments, recommended that the emphasis on the management of alcohol and other chemical dependency problems should be on community-based intervention. In line with this recommendation, health boards, including the South-Eastern Health Board, are developing comprehensive community-based addiction treatment services and are considering ways in which services provided by voluntary and/or private facilities might integrate with health board services. In the South-Eastern Health Board area, residential treatment for persons suffering from alcohol and other substance misuse who have special needs is available at the board's psychiatric hospitals.

Treatment services for addiction, both in the community and in hospital, are provided by health boards as part of the mental health services, not the general medical services. The board's services are available to all those who require them, irrespective of income. For this reason it would not be appropriate to include the treatment of addiction in any private centre within the general medical service scheme.

However, the South-Eastern Health Board recognises the contribution of Aiseirí to the treatment of persons from its functional area with alcohol problems and provide financial support to the centre. The board provides a grant of £20,000 per annum subject to the centre's accounts being available for examination. The board also purchased a house in Wexford which it has leased to Aiseirí and has made a grant of £15,000 available to carry out essential repairs/refurbishment to the premises.