Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The Senator will understand that the question as framed does not go into the type of detail he has just given me. However, I take on board his point on construction issues. I was very heavily involved in planning for the redevelopment of my area in Cork and I fully understand the type of disruption, dust, mud, traffic and times for cessation of works involved. I am hopeful that An Bord Pleanála will take it all on board, as it usually does. Sometimes the difficulty is that people who make submissions - I fully recognise that we are discussing submissions rather than objections - are not always aware of the need to specify, for example, that they would prefer if work did not begin at 8 a.m. on bank holiday Mondays. I have learned this through personal experience through the years. I am very conscious that the community in question, while it had a facility for a long time, has allowed the passage of this without obstruction. As the Senator said, it is a national issue for which we should have made provision a number of years ago but did not.

The modernisation of all aspects of our mental health services in line with A Vision for Change remains a key objective of the Government. The HSE has been provided with funding of just over €790 million for mental health services in 2015, which reflects the Government's commitment to this vital service area. The additional €35 million we provided for mental health in the 2015 budget brings to €125 million the new investment in mental health since 2012. The additional funding this year will enhance a range of services including general adult teams, psychiatry of later life, and child and adolescent community based care. There will be further recruitment and investment in agencies and services to achieve consistent provision across all areas. I fully recognise that this will bring significant employment into the area. While not all of it will come from the area, services that will have to be provided should come from as local an area as possible, and the services will be significant.

The Government's policy on mental health also recognises the clear need to address historic infrastructural deficiencies, including delivery of new facilities for the national forensic mental health service, NFMHS. Therefore, a major capital project is under way to replace the Central Mental Hospital in Dundrum with an appropriate modern facility, allied to corresponding development of regional intensive care rehabilitation units, ICRUs. This should not be forgotten because it is part of the overall plan. This capital project, known as the national forensic mental health services project, is being delivered in two phases. Phase one comprises a number of core project requirements at St. Ita's, Portrane, namely, a 120-bed national forensic hospital to replace the Central Mental Hospital; a ten-bed mental health intellectual disability forensic unit; and a ten-bed child and adolescent mental health forensic unit. As public representatives down through the years we have all seen people desperately seeking facilities for people with intellectual disabilities as well as mental health issues.

Following completion of phase one of the project, phase two will involve, subject to resource availability in future years, the provision of three 30-bed ICRUs at Portrane, Galway and Cork.

A fourth intensive care rehabilitation unit, ICRU, is planned for Mullingar through reconfiguration of an existing facility. Essentially, what the experts tell me - because as I state continually, I am not an expert - is there are people within the Central Mental Hospital, CMH, who could be catered for much closer to home to allow them to stay connected to their families but who still need the type of intensive rehabilitation they get within the Central Mental Hospital. Project and design teams have been appointed for this important new initiative. The existing Health Service Executive, HSE, capital programme allows for phase one of the project, that is, the Portrane facilities, to be operational towards the end of 2018 and for design work to be progressed on phase two, that is, the three ICRUs. The capital project for the replacement of the CMH on the site at St. Ita's, Portrane, has been designated as a strategic infrastructural development. The site has been rezoned and a planning application was lodged by the HSE with An Bord Pleanála in September 2014. Allowing for the planning process, it is expected that a decision on the project will be made in the second quarter of this year. Subject to a grant of planning, enabling works will commence on the site at Portrane shortly thereafter. Construction is expected to commence in early 2016 and to be completed around mid-2018. As is normal in major health capital projects, the equipping stages and final works then will be undertaken. In this context, it is envisaged that the new facility subsequently will become operational towards the end of 2018. Bearing in mind all the circumstances, I am satisfied that good progress has been made and will continue to be made on this important project. Equally however, I take on board the Senator's comments regarding construction and disruption to the population and the general area around it.