I propose to take Questions Nos. 58 and 111 together.
Since this Government came to office in 1997 it has invested more than £60 million revenue in the development of our child care services including new child and family support services such as specialised fostering and early intervention projects to allow health boards to provide a range of appropriate interventions which will place specialised residential care in an appropriate context.
This additional funding has allowed the health boards to increase the number of high support and special care places available from 17 in 1996 to a current total of 63 places which includes a number of individual high support packages.
My Department has approved health board proposals to develop 110 additional high support and special care places nationally. As part of this programme of developments, seven additional places have already been created in the South Eastern Health Board and an additional eight place unit for girls has been opened and is being brought into operation on a phased basis in the Southern Health Board. These developments are included in the current total of 63 places.
Plans are well advanced by the health boards to develop other additional places nationally as part of this programme. In the Eastern Regional Health Authority area, the construction of a purpose built special care unit providing 24 places at Ballydowd, Lucan, commenced in January 1999. It is anticipated that this unit will open in the summer of this year. The development of a 24 bed purpose built high support unit which will be built at Portrane is at tender stage. It is anticipated that this unit will be ready by autumn 2001.
The Midland Health Board, the North Eastern Health Board, the North Western Health Board and the Western Health Board are co-operating to provide 12 high support places on a single campus. A site has been acquired and a project manager and a project group have been put in place to develop the proposal.