Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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Question 214: To ask the Minister for Health and Children her Department's and the Health Service Executive plan in relation to moneys saved from the sale of buildings and lands; if in particular she will ensure that the funding derived therefrom will be invested in the mental health services and not expended in other areas; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8084/08]

Jimmy Devins (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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"A Vision for Change" the Report of the Expert Group on Mental Health Policy, which was launched in January 2006, has been accepted by Government as the basis for the future development of our mental health services. The vision embodied in this policy is to create a mental health system that addresses the needs of the population through a focus on the requirements of the individual. The Report recommends inter alia that a plan to bring about the closure of all mental hospitals should be drawn up and implemented, and that the resources released by these closures should be protected for reinvestment in the mental health service. The Health Service Executive has primary responsibility for implementing this recommendation.

"A Vision for Change" is very clear on this issue and recommends that resources, both capital and revenue, should be retained in the mental health service, with the reconfigured mental health services having priority in their disposal. It also recommends that the full economic value of psychiatric hospital buildings and lands should be professionally assessed towards identifying appropriate future use and maximum value and benefit. The value of these assets significantly counter balances the capital cost of the new mental health services infrastructure requirement. The Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Mary Harney, has also made it clear to the HSE in the context of their Service Plan for 2008 that there can be no question of diverting capital or development funds to meet expenditure pressures arising in relation to core services.