John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)

I appreciate that this is a matter of serious concern to Deputy Ring and the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Finneran, both of whom have raised it with me previously. To give the Deputy a straight answer, I was not aware in advance of the decision on Harristown House and, as I stated publicly, I was not contacted on the issue. While this concerned me somewhat, I do not want to rehearse a row other than to note that I have responsibility for the national drugs strategy on which the Government takes a partnership approach. As one of the key players, alongside the probation and welfare service and Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, I was not informed in advance of the decision to close the facility.

However, having said that, the decision was taken following a review of adult probation residential facilities carried out in 2007. It was not a random decision but the outcome of a process. Following the review, a number of recommendations and options emerged. The board of management, at its meeting of 25 September, made a recommendation to proceed with what was specifically referred to as Option Two. This was as follows:

Close down the facility, take time to reflect on the learning and develop a vision and a plan for a new way forward for Harristown House. There are HR and financial implications in doing this. Developing a clear vision for the future will require a precise set of steps and processes with a view to re-opening a new facility under the management of a competent strategic partner that is client centred, evidence based, effectively and efficiently managed and value for money. The benefit of this option is that Harristown House would be retained as a facility and transformed through learning, reflection and strategic planning into a superior service with clear vision and focus.

The closure arose as a result of a review of adult probation residential facilities carried out in 2007. The board of management of Harristown House chose an option involving the closure of the facility. However, the second aspect of this course of action was to proceed with closure with a view to having a new facility at Harristown.

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