Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for the reply, but while it is welcome, the Central Mental Hospital is in Dundrum not Midleton. We are talking about getting local services.

Local knowledge is local expertise. When any service is run in the community, people get to know each other and more trust is built up. I would not say there is a more laid-back working relationship but there is more understanding and there is harmony and more empathy and respect. As I said at the start, however, our biggest fear concerns what will happen once the service is gone. Surprisingly, what has happened has taken only a couple of months. There has been a very fast step-down and shut-down of the unit, which is worrying, bearing in mind the state in which the building has been. Despite that, I need somebody to commit that once the building is decommissioned and closed, something will replace it in the area. Reference was made in the reply to which I referred to moving the day-care services but the authorities have not identified anything yet. I acknowledge the new 55-bed extension being done across the road, in a very old hospital. It is community led and run, which is fabulous. There should be more of this but the biggest fear concerns the fact that we cannot afford to lose the service in Midleton. We cannot let the building rot or be sold for something else. It was put there for a reason and we need to keep it there. Many use it. Irrespective of the position on long-term care, it is imperative that the day-care and respite services be retained in east Cork. Could the Minister of State commit to finding out as soon as possible what will happen to the building and site?

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