Gerard Craughwell (Independent)
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This is my first time to address the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, since his elevation. I compliment him on being a champion for the disabled in the work he has done since reaching the office of Minister of State at the Department of Health. However, we are here to talk about St. Stephen's Hospital, Sarsfield Court, Glanmire, County Cork. As the Minister of State is aware, I do not normally take on local issues. I take on national issues, but this issues has ramifications nationally for the Department.

The hospital caters for a small number of mental health patients in the main building, while a separate single storey building includes a child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS, unit for children with learning difficulties. Another adjacent building caters for teenagers in care. The Child and Family Agency, Tusla, has offices there and there is also an Alzheimer's unit on the site.

I do not know whether the Minister of State has ever had an opportunity to visit St. Stephen's Hospital, but it is situated on a magnificent 117 acre site which offers ultimate potential for the development of an acute hospital. Its location could not be better. The hospital is located less than a mile from the M8 motorway and only ten miles from Cork city and there is no traffic congestion in the area. There is excellent public transport and ample space for parking. If developed, it would serve a huge catchment area, including not just Glanmire but also Watergrasshill, Mayfield and Ballyvolane, as well as the rapidly expanding towns of Cobh, Carrigtwohill and the wider east Cork area.

St. Stephen's Hospital is in the constituency of Cork North Central which has suffered greatly. There has been little investment in the area. As we know, the shortage of acute beds in public hospitals is the root cause of the overcrowding problem in emergency departments. The current accident and emergency crisis, which is now an all-year-round problem, has occurred precisely because of the acute bed shortage, and Cork is no exception.

Earlier this year, the Health Service Executive, HSE, report on acute hospital services for Cork and Kerry found that Cork needs a new hospital within the next ten to 15 years to cope with the population growth. The proposed development by University College Cork of a science park at Curraheen, with an acute hospital facility, has been put forward as an option on official planning documents by Cork County Council. While the development of a science park has great merits, there is no guarantee if and when a hospital could be developed on a greenfield site.

Councillor Ger Keohane from Glanmire is a strong advocate of the St. Stephen's option and has asked me to invite the Minister of State to visit St. Stephen's, with his officials, to explore the possibility of redevelopment. I agree with Councillor Keohane that the redevelopment of St. Stephen's would be an infinitely more cost-effective, efficient and timely option. The hospital site could have an accident and emergency department, a minor surgery department, a primary care centre, an X-ray department, an ambulance depot, a 24-7 suicide prevention unit, a psychiatric wing and many other facilities. Given the space available and the fact that there are ten derelict buildings on the site, the options are endless. It would cost much less to redevelop St. Stephen's as a multi-purpose medical facility than to embark on a greenfield project on the same side of the county where there is already a major hospital. I thank the Minister of State for taking the time to come to the House and giving this matter his consideration.

Finian McGrath (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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I thank Senator Gerard Craughwell for his kind words. Let us hope we can do something about the issue of developing disability services over the coming years but also deal with many other issues such as the one the Senator raises today.

I thank the Senator for raising this particular issue because I know he is a passionate advocate for health services but particularly for mental health and disability services. In terms of the details, the hospital campus at St. Stephen's Hospital consists of approximately 114 acres which were developed as a regional sanatorium in the 1950s. It is located approximately 14 miles from Cork University Hospital, CUH, and other hospitals in Cork, and has limited access to public transport services. While some acute hospital services were previously based at St. Stephen's Hospital, those services were relocated to Cork University Hospital when it opened in 1979. The vacated buildings were used to facilitate the closure of Our Lady’s Hospital, with the transfer of mental health services to the campus.

Mental health services currently provided at the campus include an acute mental health unit; four residential mental health units for patients requiring continuing care for enduring mental health conditions; an Alzheimer's unit; and the Child and Adolescents Mental Health Services, CAMHS, north Lee team. In addition, the site at St. Stephen's also accommodates a Tusla residential child care facility, and children’s outreach services. Fostering services general and regional administration accommodation is also located at St. Stephen's, along with some local primary care services.

There has been, and continues to be, a need to carry out significant works to the buildings from which inpatient mental health services are currently provided to enable continued use of these buildings and to meet the standards required by the Mental Health Commission for approved inpatient-residential centres. Further works will also be required to the Alzheimer's unit to ensure its ongoing compliance with HIQA regulations. We have to ensure that all these services are up to both national and international standards.

The existing buildings at St. Stephen's Hospital, in the context of acute hospital services, are substantially to a 1950s standard in terms of the building fabric, the layout, the functionality and the engineering services. These would require major capital investment to allow them be brought into use for patient services. It is a matter for the HSE in the first instance, which has statutory responsibility for the planning and delivery of health and personal social services at local level, including any proposed infrastructural developments, to consider the issue raised by Senator Craughwell, taking account of agreed policy for the development of acute hospitals in the region and evolving service priorities and resource availability overall. I will, of course, bring the Senator's concerns to the attention of the Minister, Deputy Harris.

Gerard Craughwell (Independent)
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I thank the Minister of State for his response. As regards major acute hospitals, there needs to be consultation locally rather than decisions being taken from a macro viewpoint in Dublin. People on the ground need to talk to local representatives who will represent their views. The Minister of State has done a lot of work in the area of disability, but we still have serious problems with access to public buildings for those with disabilities. He might, therefore, do something about that in the near future.

Finian McGrath (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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I thank the Senator for raising those issues. As regards local consultation, one must listen to the needs of people in the community. I totally accept that there is a problem in Cork with regard to planning services. I was there just after Christmas to visit a number of centres in Cork city. I did not see the one referred to by Senator Craughwell, but I visited many others and got a good feel for the place. We need to deal with the long-term planning of hospitals and other medical services in Cork city and county. The Senator mentioned the acute beds issue. As he knows, the Minister, Deputy Harris, has managed to pump an extra €500 million into health services. We are essentially trying to reinvest in our services but we also need to reform them. The Senator's final point was about access and, only yesterday, I met a group of disabled adults. They were one of the first groups I met at a conference where the majority of speakers had disabilities. The two key issues raised were transport for access to employment, and housing. I will bring to the Minister's attention all the issues and concerns raised by the Senator.