Mr. Bernard Gloster:

I thank the Chair. I appreciate that. To be fair to Deputy Quaide, he has raised it with me in his time in elected politics and also as a professional.

What I would say to the Deputy is that there are so many varying views about these things, it is often hard to know. You make the best decisions you can. I would like to think that beyond the battering ram of the Owenacurra story, at least when I came to it, the Deputy experienced something different with respect to the disposition of the organisation. When I came to it, there was no possibility of replacing Owenacurra. It is now going to be replaced on the site and integrated into the community.

Equally, with regard to the scale of the investment planned on the St. Stephen's site, what I will do is this. Rather than the battering ram, I am happy to put the plan up there and for different groups and interests - the public, the Mental Health Commission, professional groups and community groups - to make submissions on what they think is right or wrong with that. Let us see what kind of consensus we can arrive at for the future.

It is a very big-scale plan, so it is not one I am simply going to put in the bin and walk away from. I hear what the Deputy is saying and I am not indifferent to what he is saying. I am told the configuration of Glanmire will fundamentally change. I am only telling the Deputy what I have been told. I would be very happy for the local authority, the HSE, the Mental Health Commission and all of the interests to objectively have a good cut off the plan and then see where it takes us.