John Moloney (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Senator for what she said. I wish I had more time to respond because she raised so many issues. I do not intend to respond by way of the prepared script because many of the issues raised are not referred to therein.

I have been asked to meet a delegation including Deputy Mattie McGrath, the Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Deputy Mansergh, Senator Prendergast and Deputy Tom Hayes and I intend to do so. I do not want to be blunt or bad-mannered in my response. It is my intention to proceed as fast as possible to close down every mental hospital in the country. I am committed to doing so in three years. I have visited nearly every psychiatric hospital and have done so without media involvement. The Senator might remember I did not notify the public representatives in the areas concerned. I did so to build a belief we were serious about mental health service reform.

One of the first hospitals I visited was St. Michael's in Clonmel. I saw its condition, just as I saw the condition of so many other hospitals. I certainly made a commitment to its staff, particularly those who attended the meeting. I had some serious discussions with them and made a serious commitment to the effect that, if I secured funding for the capital programme, the mental health services in the hospital in Clonmel would be among the first to benefit from investment.

I consider this matter in the context of A Vision for Change. Everything proposed for south Tipperary is contained in that document; it is not new thinking. I ask the Senator to bear with me, as I will take another opportunity, perhaps next week, to explain my points.

The second issue is that there will be absolutely no attempt on behalf of the HSE or Department to close down St. Michael's Hospital until the investment of €20 million is made. In this regard, I am going to Tipperary within a fortnight to turn the sod on the new development. It is not sod-turning for the sake of appearing on camera but it is a sod-turning in line with all the serious commitments given by me in the past 18 months. The recommendations were not set down by me but by experts in the area of psychiatric care, including Senator Prendergast. The Senator is aware of what is occurring on the ground.

I hope what we are doing in Clonmel will happen throughout the country in the coming years. We are starting off with a commitment to provide €43 million for mental health services. We have a multi-annual programme. What is proposed for and what is happening in Tipperary was outlined four years ago in A Vision for Change. I read the local media and do not agree with the contention that the HSE is acting independently, improperly or without the imprimatur of the Government. It is carrying out exactly what was proposed for the reform of mental health services nationally. This must include St. Michael's Hospital. Patients and their families are the people about whom we are always talking. Before there is any attempt to close St. Michael's Hospital, the investment in the 40-bed nursing unit in Clonmel will be made. There will be a full team of health providers, psychiatric care providers and nurses to deal with psychiatric care issues in Tipperary.

I read one of the comments made at the meeting. It is implied there was an attempt to punish the patients by sending them to Kilkenny. This could not be further from the truth. Every aspect and every geographical area has been dealt with in A Vision for Change. The document was not put together by politicians but by service users, their families and experts in the field. Every proposal made therein will be implemented.

I read in the media that somebody emerged from a meeting and leaked something that was being hopped on by the HSE, but the reality is that the HSE was explaining what A Vision for Change was about. That is exactly why I went to Tipperary some months ago. I look forward to visiting again.

Let me be more specific because I know the Senator is very concerned. I heard her speak about this issue in the House in the past. I do not say this to plámás her. While the HSE has announced the closure of St. Michael's Hospital, its services will, in due course, be transferred to St. Luke's Hospital in Kilkenny. It must be stressed that this will not occur before a home-based treatment team is put in place and operating for 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This is not the system that obtains. I note from the brief that one third of referrals to St. Michael's Hospital in Tipperary occur after hours, in other words, at a time in respect of which people have not proposed or requested a separate service.