Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me to raise the issue and I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House to deal with it. I am inquiring about the transfer of 18 residents from Toghermore House to other centres. The Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, opened part of the centre at Toghermore House in autumn 2011. It is a very fine facility and there has been great praise for the work that has been done there. Much money has been spent on Toghermore House and it would not take much more to address the fire and safety standards that have been highlighted as a problem.

It would be very harsh to move 18 people from Toghermore House coming up to Christmas with no centres as yet identified for those residents. We need a better response from the HSE on this issue. I understand the engineer's report, which has just come in, refers to fire doors that are urgently needed, and I hope they will be installed. Effectively, there is no need to close Toghermore House if we can address the issue of fire safety. We have been advised that the service and training will continue at Toghermore House. It is an example of decisions being made at short notice with very serious implications for the users of health services in County Galway. In the past year, nursing home centres at Woodford and Oughterard, to name but two, were closed without warning. Indeed the facility at Woodford closed over a weekend. I would like the Minister of State to reconsider this question. If improvements need to be carried out, what does the improvement work entail and how much will it cost? I would like to see a more complete statement from the HSE than the one I saw to date.

I have referred to 18 residents, but there is considerably more activity in the centre. The training places and day places mean that up to 50 or 60 people use the services there. Given the availability of this centre, no rented properties are used in Tuam and these 18 people have rights like everybody else.

I am sure the Minister of State knows the history of Toghermore House. The house was donated to the State by the late former Labour Senator, Bobby Burke, and it is now the headquarters for mental health services in Tuam and Headford. The family of the late Bobby Burke are held in very high regard in the north County Galway area. The facility has proven very cost-effective when compared with the alternative of using rented property. It is also helping to cast away the stigma associated with psychological illnesses by encouraging people to seek treatment and help, just as they would for any other health complaint. The staff have told me having people at Toghermore House has prevented admission to hospital, or where there is admission to hospital it has meant a shorter stay for people in hospital.

The historic Toghermore House is the headquarters for this area and plans are under way to locate other health services there such as speech and language therapy and physiotherapy. The campus might also be used in the future by some local voluntary organisations. Extensive renovation and refurbishment works have been carried out on the main house, while vacant dilapidated warehouses and stores have been transformed into modern clinic rooms, offices and recreational areas. It is a very fine facility and I would not like to see it undermined in any way from the point of view of the residents or the staff. I believe we have a very good centre and I hope the Minister of State can give us some information on the engineer's report. I hope we can assure the people who use the service that the residential centre will continue in operation.

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