Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

We have a peculiar view in Ireland of what "adjacent" is. In the recent past there has been some public consternation over postal addresses. This appears to fly in the face of the legal responsibility of local authorities to draft county development plans, which are subject to full public discussion and negotiation. This seems to have been done in secret. On five separate occasions last October and November the Tánaiste told the House in reply to questions: "I fully agree with the families and carers who feel that it would not be desirable that the hospital be perceived as, or closely identified with, a prison complex." I agree with that statement and nothing could be clearer, yet when it comes to this decision, the Government flies in the face of the Tánaiste's own instinct and statement in this regard.

On 10 March last year, the Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, Deputy Tim O'Malley, let the cat out of the bag in the Irish Examiner, when he said the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform "thinks a Central Mental Hospital should be adjacent to a jail". It is now clear that this decision was driven by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform. Is this to be his equivalent of the "Bertie bowl" and his legacy for the future? It is clear that this flies in the face of the report from the Human Rights Commission and the Mental Health Commission which both stated that the Central Mental Hospital should not be adjacent to a prison and that the rights of those suffering from mental illness would be undermined. Does the Tánaiste accept that the interests of the mentally ill have been let down? In view of all the reports on the stigmatisation of those suffering from mental illness, will she undertake to have the Government reconsider this decision?

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