Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for the opportunity to discuss this very important matter. I raise it because I received letters from the very concerned parents of residents at Clonree House on foot of newspaper reports that the centre there is to close.

To close a centre after a six-month period is a very worrying aspect of this proposal. The families of the loved ones being cared for in this centre, like all families with children suffering from mental illness, see the care and facilities as having a stabilising effect on those seeking such care. The families also understood in this instance that a new rehabilitation group was to be established. However, instead of the good news of advancing the care of their loved ones through the proposed group, the families are being told that the facility is to close for financial reasons. One reason mentioned is that the staffing levels could not be maintained at the centre and because of this, overtime had to be paid on all night-shift work. It is this aspect that is causing the financial problems leading to the threat of closure.

Families also see bonds of friendship develop between all of the residents and this loss of friendship will also affect each of the residents. If the residents are moved to another centre, it will take a great deal of time for them to develop new friendships, acquaint themselves with new surroundings and so on. These difficulties lead to a fear within the person and a further worry for the family concerned.

I need only quote from a letter, sent to the Tánaiste, that I received from a family member with a loved one in the centre, to understand the worry and concern that this uncertainty is causing for the families concerned:

I have now been made aware that this hostel is being closed down for mainly financial reasons. I am one of many families who has someone in the service. To have someone you love develop a psychiatric illness is horrendous. Mostly it is such a slow process that you are not aware it is happening. When you have someone admitted to Lake view unit, the psychiatric section in Naas General Hospital, they usually remain there for a few weeks until they are returned to their families. The effect this has on the family is frightening. The family are left to deal with a stranger with no training and very little support. If every family gave in and left their loved ones in hospital it would cause chaos. We as families need help. This hostel was to be our saving grace we felt. It would be somewhere our loved ones would get the help coping with their illness and maybe families would get the help needed to understand. When someone develops a physiatric illness their personality can change hugely. In a way you end up grieving for the child you lost and have to learn to accept the person they become.

That statement speaks for itself and underlines the threat that the families involved fear at this very moment.

What is going to happen? When will it happen? In what way will it affect their loved ones and in what way will it affect the home? Will any facilities be put in place to assist them with the burden that they have to bear? These very relevant questions must be answered by the HSE before any action is taken in regard to the possible closure of the centre. The families of those involved must be consulted and agreement reached on the means of addressing a problem that has great personal effects for the families involved. It affects them to the point that they are being split down the middle as to what they can further accept.

I ask the Minister that this decision be re-examined and that every effort be made to maintain the centre that the families have come to trust and believe in. I also ask that the proposal on the provision of a rehabilitation group at the centre be considered, as the families believe that this is the way forward for their loved ones.

I will conclude with another quote from the same letter to the Tánaiste:

There is no one fighting solely for the patients or families like me. So for them I ask you to re-think the closure of this centre. I feel you are a straight person and if you can help, you will. I feel so sad because I know what is ahead for anyone who has a loved one enter the service. The only way I can describe it is a life sentence for all of us, patients and families.

I ask that this be brought to the attention of the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children and that the appropriate action be taken to keep the centre open.

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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I thank Deputy Wall for raising the issue and I assure him I will bring his remarks to the attention of the Tánaiste.

The management and delivery of services at Clonree House is primarily a matter for the Health Service Executive. The HSE has informed the Department of Health and Children that Clonree House opened in December 2005 to facilitate the refurbishment of another residential facility in the mental health services for Kildare and west Wicklow. I am advised that six residents live in Clonree House and all residents have been assessed by the mental health services rehabilitation staff. The plan is to transfer them in the near future to community residences which are deemed to be more appropriate to their needs. This will be carried out in consultation with the individuals concerned and their families. The HSE is examining proposals for the most efficient and effective use of Clonree House for the patients of the Kildare adult mental health services.

As the Deputy may be aware, the report of the expert group on mental health policy, A Vision for Change, was published by my colleague the Minister for State, Deputy Tim O'Malley, in January this year. This report has been accepted by Government as the basis for the future development of mental health policy. This report is the first comprehensive review of mental health policy since Planning for the Future was published in 1984.

Recent years have seen dramatic changes in both the concept and innovative practice of mental health care delivery. These changes have been very much in line with the model of service provision now recommended by the expert group. The focus of mental health service provision is to work towards a community-based model of supporting, caring for and treating people with mental illness who live in their own communities. This is achieved through a range of services, which includes outpatient clinics, day hospitals, home visits, community residences and supported accommodation as well as working in collaboration with voluntary organisations.

A Vision for Change envisions an active, flexible and community-based mental health service where the need for hospital admission will be greatly reduced. The report recommends that a programme of capital and non-capital investment in mental health services adjusted in line with inflation should be implemented in a phased basis over the next seven to ten years. The proposals in that document will allow for further significant expansion in community services and in specialised services for groups such as children, older people and those with particular needs.

The programme of further investment began this year, with an additional €25 million allocated to the HSE for the development of mental health services. This brings to €835 million the estimated non-capital expenditure on our mental health services in 2006. The Minister of State, Deputy Tim O'Malley, who has special responsibility for mental health will seek the active support of all involved in the mental health services so that together we can bring about the far-reaching improvements contained in A Vision for Change. l assure Deputy Wall that decisions in regard to the future use of Clonree House will be made in accordance with the recommendations in that document. I thank the Deputy for raising this matter.