Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. Teach Mhuire in Cork is a facility purchased in 2007, at cost of €2.1 million, by the group headed by Sr. Consilio. At the time there were negotiations with Cork City Council and the HSE whereby Sr. Consilio's group would purchase the house and the annual cost of running it would be borne jointly by Cork City Council and the HSE. We are now 11 years on and the facility is still vacant.

I visited this centre recently and it is a state-of-the-art facility with full central heating and double-glazed windows. It has been totally refurbished and it has been in that state for eight or nine years. It can accommodate 16 people. My understanding is the original intention was for it to be a step-down facility and there is a disagreement between the HSE and the group on what the centre should be used for. The group has more than 90 beds in various units throughout the country providing step-down facilities, and the funding is normally split, with 40% from the local authority and 60% from the HSE.

I am very concerned that at a time when we need to free places in facilities around the country, this centre was designed to help people who would have come through rehabilitation either for drug or alcohol abuse and are now moving on with their lives. This is a stable environment in which they could live. This facility is in Cork and it is available. The doors could be opened tomorrow morning if funding could be provided jointly by the city council and the HSE. I have discussed this with members of the city council and the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy. My understanding is they are prepared to come on board once there is agreement between this group and the HSE. I ask that this should not drag on for another 12 months, with 16 beds left vacant, when we badly need them. I ask that we now have a commitment for funding for 2019.