John Moloney (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

Some counties have no existing mental facilities to sell off to fund their mental health programmes. Tipperary is part of the 300,000 catchment area referred to in A Vision for Change. The whole process has been to ensure we deliver multidisciplinary services to these areas. We are not unravelling A Vision for Change to suit Tipperary as I am having to do the same in Portlaoise.

When I first took over this job 15 months ago, I made it clear I wanted a director for mental health services appointed to drive the reform programme. My second commitment was to secure the capital funding for the reform programme from the Government. My final commitment is to ensure a full assessment of how far A Vision for Change has been implemented on 1 March and how it will be funded for the remaining four years. I believe who ever holds this ministerial post should do this assessment every March.

This assessment will give me an opportunity to work with people in the HSE, such as Brian Gilroy, who heads the procurement programme. This year I intend to ensure the capital required will be available to deliver a modernised mental health service with priorities such as a new Central Mental Hospital site, child and adolescent services, acute psychiatric units and rehabilitation units. Much work has to be done to convince Senator Prendergast that this is consistent with the non-involvement of politicians and the full involvement of service-users, their families and service-providers. What the HSE is doing in this case has not been thought up in an ad hoc fashion, but is a clear following of the mental health services reform programme.