The question of the percentage of overall health spend on psychiatric illness is a matter for the Department of Health and Children. The Department of Justice, Equality and law Reform will deal with the issues that are relevant to it.
It has been agreed that the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform is in charge of the Central Mental Hospital in Dundrum. We are somewhat disappointed that the service agreement is not in place already, but we expect it to be so in the next few weeks.
The Deputy will be aware that as a result of the provisions of the Mental Health Act, a mental health inspector will be appointed shortly to visit each institution with people who are suffering from a mental illness at least once a year. The inspector will publish his reports which will be available to and may be debated by the Oireachtas, providing an impetus for reform.
The difficulty with the treatment of mentally ill prisoners is that main-line health care is primarily a matter for the Department of Health and Children. However, when someone is suffering from a psychiatric or other illness in the prison system, it becomes a matter for the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. That is the model followed in other countries, but it is not entirely satisfactory. In theory, someone who requires treatment for a psychiatric illness while in the prison system can be referred to any of the regional hospitals in the various health boards or to the Central Mental Hospital in Dundrum. However, in practice, they are invariably referred to the Central Mental Hospital and a two-fold problem has arisen there, which I readily concede. First, the level of throughput means that people are waiting a long time for treatment in many cases and, second, the facilities are inadequate. The service agreement will deal with the first problem. In relation to the inadequacy of the facilities in Dundrum, a project team is looking at the physical structure of the hospital and it will send proposals to the Department of Finance shortly with recommendations as to how it can be upgraded and extended.