Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As Senator Clifford-Lee said, the peninsula is beautiful. It must be a wonderful place to live because on the day of my visit the sun shone and the views were spectacular. I was extremely impressed by what I saw on my visit to what will be the new central mental hospital. The project is long overdue and the additional capacity is very welcome.

Many issues have been raised with regard to capacity. Senator Bacik is right that the capacity of the Central Mental Hospital was 102 in 2019 but is only 93 at the moment due to Covid. A certain number of isolation rooms had to be kept in case there was a major outbreak. The new state-of-the-art facility in Portrane is at an advanced stage of construction and is expected to open in the first half of 2021. I admit that there has been some slippage because of Covid. We only have an approximate relocation date. When I visited the site six weeks ago, the builders had reached the snagging stage and the project was approximately 98% complete. The project will be handed over in the new year. It will take approximately three months to equip, commission and train staff.

There will 130 new beds in the new facility: a high-security unit with 40 beds; an intellectual disability unit with 20 beds; a medium secure unit with 30 beds; a pre-discharge unit with 20 beds; and a female unit with 20 beds. There will be 30 beds in the forensic intensive care and rehabilitation unit and ten beds in the forensic child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS, unit. I saw the CAMHS unit and was very impressed.

I welcome the fact that, in 2002, Senator McDowell was to the fore in making sure that we no longer had padded cells and now have observation cells. The CAMHS unit is for youths and minors aged under 18 years who are very challenged and have probably come through the courts system but would not have been fit to stand trial. On my visit I was very impressed with the way the CAMHS unit was set out with individual rooms, green areas, sports areas and well-lit areas with high ceilings that improved the acoustics. The facilities are state-of-the art. I believe that when Covid passes the facilities are well worth a visit, especially for members of the health and justice committees, which have done so much work on these issues. However, I do not know whether a visit by the committees is possible.Many people have said that we will still have capacity issues in years to come. As I said, we are increasing from 102 places to 170 places. Will it address the waiting list? It will, to some extent. It will increase capacity at the new campus but will not entirely keep pace with the trends in demand for places. It would be incorrect for me to say that it would. It will, however, certainly make a difference in the short term.

Improved forensic bed capacity is envisaged under phase 2 of this capital project, which provides for the two new 30-bed regional intensive care units in Cork and Galway under the multiannual HSE capital plan. This will be another 60 beds.

As Members are aware, Sharing the Vision is a ten-year programme for implementing a proper mental health service for all people. One in four of us will have a mental health illness at some stage in our lives. The majority of us will go to our GPs and get the help and supports we need. There are quite a lot of people, however, for whom that is not enough. They will need supports. Sharing the Vision is a person-centred approach. Last Friday we held the first meeting of the national implementation and monitoring committee, which is chaired by John Saunders of the Mental Health Commission. It is an independent committee. After the first meeting last Friday I was delighted and impressed that we have so many people with experience of working with mental health issues, and so many people who are positive about affecting change, who are all part of that committee. The committee comprises 15 or 16 people. There are also 30 to 40 people who have shown an interest and there will be three or four sub-committees put in place immediately in January 2021. One will be on the child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS, and our waiting lists, and the other committee I want to see in place immediately will look at capacity for all mental health beds throughout the country, and not only at community level. It will be at all levels to see where we are going because we must plan for the future. Certainly, the extra beds being provided at this new facility will make a huge difference.

Senator McDowell raised many issues with regard to the justice system. The Government is committed to delivering on the acute and complex needs of people with mental health difficulties interacting with the criminal justice sector. The Department of Justice, in communication with the Department of Health, is in the process of establishing the cross-level, cross-departmental and cross-agency task force. The Senator is quite right that mental health cannot be less than health. It must come across all the different Departments in relation to justice, housing and social protection. We have had the first meeting. The Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, and I have all attended. We are at the early stages of setting up this high-level, cross-departmental and cross-agency task force. Under the prisons and penal reform heading in the programme for Government it is envisaged to improve links between health and judicial systems. This will examine the mental health and addiction challenges of those imprisoned and in primary care support on release.

Many questions were asked about the future plans for the Dundrum site. The site is owned by the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland. An 11.3 ha. Dundrum central development is to be located on the site of the former Central Mental Hospital after it relocates to Portrane. This will be progressed by the Land Development Agency, which is a commercial State-sponsored body set up to co-ordinate land within State control for more optimal uses where appropriate and with a focus on the provision of housing. A planning application for the Dundrum site is expected to be submitted in mid-2021 with construction to start in 2022, subject to planning approval. While the residential unit mix, number and ancillary uses will be determined as part of the design, a development of approximately 1,300 new build residential units, including reuse of the heritage building on the site is proposed. The Land Development Agency will engage in a consultation with the public and community groups on the scheme.

On Senator Boyhan's point, the site is being transferred into the Land Development Agency for the construction of housing. A commitment was given some years ago that profits from the sale of former mental health facilities would be refreshed into mental health services.I think this is the point Senator Boyhan is making.