Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)

I hope the Acting Chairman will be flexible as regards the time.

The concerns of relatives and staff in Grangegorman are now public as a result of media attention such as on "Liveline". Five women are being transferred from an open unit in Grangegorman to a closed, secure unit. Voluntary patients are moving to a ward for involuntary patients. This is contrary to all best medical practice. These are low risk patients who are being moved into what would have been regarded as a medium to high risk unit. A number of these patients have been in the unit for a considerable period of time. They are familiar with their surroundings and have formed friendships and have decorated the unit for Christmas.

The reason for this significant change in their situation is because of a shortage of staff. This is a peak holiday time and there is an embargo on recruitment in the public sector. The staff are very committed and are to be commended, and a new, state-of-the-art unit will be built next year. However, a current significant bottleneck needs to be addressed. The solution is to provide the staff cover through the use of overtime or agency staff. Another seven patients in the unit were transferred to hostel accommodation on the North Circular Road and in Fairview or to other units. This could be an alternative for the remaining five patients or else the embargo on staff should be lifted to allow for the provision of ten extra staff required over that period. I ask the Minister of State to address the situation.

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