Darragh O'Brien (Fianna Fail)

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I congratulate the Minister of State on her appointment and I have no doubt she will carry our her role with distinction. It is an important portfolio. The Minister of State will agree that a former colleague of mine and a personal friend, John Moloney, did a top notch job in this area. This is an area which has cross-party support and all of us care about the areas of disability, mental health and psychiatric care. It is in the interests of all of us and all communities.

A Vision for Change sets out the vision. The progress that has been made since 2006 outlined by the Minister of State in her contribution is significant. The moves towards integration within the community, independent living and respite within the community are crucial. It is crucial to move away from the psychiatric institutions. Having said that and if I may be parochial for one moment, inpatient beds are required in my area at St. Ita's Hospital, Portrane, which has served the areas of Donabate and Portrane since 1901. It has a track record in looking after people with intellectual and psychiatric disabilities. Unfortunately, many of the admissions are due to attempted suicide.

I am concerned and I call on the Minister of State to take this back to the Department. New admissions to St. Ita's Hospital will cease from 31 August. I welcome that the Minister for Health has informed me that construction on a new inpatient unit in Beaumont Hospital will begin shortly, but what will happen in the interim? The proposed date, 31 August, is only weeks away. The staff in St. Ita's Hospital are excellent. I visit it regularly. However, there is grave concern in the area. I call on the Minister of State to take that back to her Department. I have no wish to be overly political on it. I am keen to know about construction, planning and everything else that happens. Will the Minister of State indicate today when she expects the new inpatient unit in Beaumont Hospital to be open and what are the construction timelines?

Some of my colleagues mentioned young adults. Certain organisations deserve support. The HSE and its staff carry our crucial services, but certain voluntary and community bodies carry out great work as well. Prosper Fingal looks after many young adults when they leave school and provides training for the workforce in independent living and education. It looks after hundreds of young adults. Like everything else, there is pressure on funding. However, I call on the Department to establish what can be done outside the HSE. Another example is the Caring and Sharing Association, CASA, which has branches throughout the country and in my area where it provides respite care for people and gives families a break. We should examine the value for money we are getting. Some groups are doing fantastic work and it is not a good idea to have everything centralised.

In the 2011 budget there was a 1.8% decrease in disability funding. That was significantly less compared with the other decreases that had to be brought forward in the previous budget. This was welcome, especially since we are in a deflationary environment. Effectively, the budget of €920 million has been retained, which is not insignificant. I realise we are some way from the budget but we are not too far away from the Estimates. The Minister of State will get 150% support from this side of the House. It is crucial that the budget is maintained and that mental health and disability services continue to be ring-fenced. It is also important that the sale of these assets do not simply go back into the pot and that, instead, these areas continue to be ring-fenced to provide new facilities such as Knockamann which opened up earlier this year in Portrane. Mr. John Moloney also was able to surmount the moratorium issues to ensure this area was perceived as a crucial priority, because these are the most vulnerable people in society. How the vulnerable are treated is a reflection of how progressive or good is our society. While I do not expect the Minister of State to be able to provide a figure today, she should refer to progress being made towards the Estimates project, the ring-fencing of moneys and at the very least, the maintenance of the budget that was provided for in 2011.

I wish to raise a couple of items pertaining to community group funding. There is a raft of groups nationwide. Earlier I referred to a study being carried out. Are studies being undertaken on the funding being provided to such groups with reference to the work they carry out? I refer in particular to comparing the work they do with that done within the Department of Health and the HSE. Crucial work is undertaken by organisations such as the Caring and Sharing Association, CASA, the Arch clubs, Prosper Fingal and other groups throughout the country, which are saving the State money. While this is not a monetary issue, more of this can be pushed out into the community rather than simply being controlled centrally through the HSE.

I wish the Minister of State well in this portfolio. She will receive all the support she requires from the Fianna Fáil grouping. The issue of funding services for mental and intellectual disabilities obviously transcends all political parties and she will find no disagreement from Fianna Fáil if she is able to ensure the budget is maintained and the ring-fencing of moneys for the services continues.