Darragh O'Brien (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, for taking my Commencement Matter on the proposed national forensics mental health services hospital in Portrane, County Dublin, for which a planning application has been lodged. I am sure she has had an opportunity to visit the St. Ita's campus. The people in Portrane, Donabate and elsewhere on that peninsula have a long-standing tradition of caring for people with mental and physical disabilities, particularly in psychiatric services. My friend and colleague, Councillor Adrian Henchy, who is newly elected to Fingal County Council, has done considerable work to engage with residents prior to the submission by the HSE of a planning application to An Bord Pleanála.

The vast majority of residents on the peninsula support this proposal. It will breathe new life into St. Ita's, and the proposed 175 bed hospital is badly needed. The jobs and additional services that will be created will also benefit the area. However, I have raised this issue because Councillor Henchy has asked me to bring to the attention of the Minister of State some of the concerns that have been expressed by residents.

The proposal as currently drafted by the HSE leaves a lot to be desired, particularly given that the construction of the hospital is expected to take two years. I ask the Minister of State to set out a timeframe for construction. Local schools and sports clubs have also raised major concerns which we do not believe the HSE has addressed in its application. We have made submissions to highlight that but we want these concerns to be taken on board. There is only access point at present, and the only way to deal with this is to construct a separate haul road. Donabate is an area with a young population and there will be thousands of vehicle trips over the two years of construction, with heavy traffic travelling through the village. That is not going to work. I hope An Bord Pleanála takes account of these concerns.

I take it the Department of Health has an interest in ensuring this facility is delivered on time and within cost. If this objective is to be achieved, the HSE should engage with the local community through public representatives like me or Councillor Henchy, or directly with the community council.

The HSE has tried to pull a fast one with its proposals for community gain, as provided for in the Planning and Development (Strategic Infrastructure) Act 2006. The proposals are pathetic, amounting to little more than handing over the leases for a couple of football pitches. A project of this magnitude should include a specific budget of between 4% and 5% for community gain. I recognise the HSE is probably starting with its lowest offer but there are many good initiatives it could be supporting. The community broadly welcomes the facility but it is important for the HSE to be a good neighbour to people in Donabate and Portrane.

Councillor Henchy, our colleagues and I have highlighted in our submissions that the HSE needs to go further regarding community gain and consider our existing senior citizens, sports clubs in the area, community facilities that the HSE can assist on a once-off basis of funding and getting involved in the local community. Councillor Henchy and I have made a submission on the basis of supporting this, and most people in Donabate and Portrane support the development of this very important national facility and we want it to work. We want the HSE to be reasonable about construction, which is the central issue, and the community gains. I thank the Minister for coming here. I appreciate her time.

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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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.

Darragh O'Brien (Fianna Fail)
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Briefly, I thank the Minister of State for the comprehensive response and for taking on board the issues I have raised about construction. It is important to get community buy-in for all health facilities nationwide. St. Ita's always has been linked inextricably to, and has been part of, the community and everyone wants that to continue. The HSE can help with this by way of what I have suggested with regard to community gain and in examining how the HSE can assist our sports . This is a major project that probably will run to €100 million and more in construction costs and I believe the HSE must give a little more. However, I thank the Minister of State and will keep her abreast of the position in Donabate and Portrane. I thank her for her commitment to this facility because the community has really engaged on it. I also wish to commend Donabate Portrane Community Council, all the sports clubs, the local representatives and, in particular, my friend and colleague, Councillor Adrian Henchy, on the work they have done. Through working together on this, a world-class facility can be produced, which is what is sought. I again thank the Minister of State for taking the time to come into the House today, which I appreciate.

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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Briefly, as I would not like the impression to go around, the Senator understands it would be highly inappropriate for me to interfere at this point.

Darragh O'Brien (Fianna Fail)
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No, I do not want her to do that.

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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However, his concerns will be relayed to those who eventually will be carrying this out.