Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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Question 223: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if amendments to the Central Criminal Lunatic Asylum (Ireland) Act 1845, or to other relevant legislation, are envisaged in connection with the proposed sale of the present Central Mental Hospital and the building of a new hospital on a new site; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23063/08]

Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 327: To ask the Minister for Health and Children her views in relation to the proposal to relocate the Central Mental Hospital, Dundrum to the site of the proposed prison at Thornton Hall; and if she views it appropriate to move a therapeutic centre to the grounds of a prison which would inevitably lead to greater stigmatisation of mental illness and which runs counter to the values set out in the national policy framework for mental health, A Vision for Change. [22913/08]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)
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Question 354: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if amendments to the Central Criminal Lunatic Asylum (Ireland) Act 1845, or to other relevant legislation, are envisaged in connection with the proposed sale of the present Central Mental Hospital and the building of a new hospital on a new site; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23064/08]

John Moloney (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 223, 327 and 354 together.

The Government decision in May 2006 approved the development of a new national forensic mental health facility at Thornton Hall, Co. Dublin. The new hospital facility will provide a therapeutic, forensic psychiatric service to the highest international standards, in a state-of–the-art building. The decision to relocate the Central Mental Hospital (CMH) is consistent with "A Vision for Change" — the report of the Expert Group on Mental Health Policy, which recommends that the CMH should be replaced or remodelled to allow it to provide care and treatment in a modern, up-to-date humane setting and that capacity should be maximised.

The redevelopment of the CMH will constitute a separate capital development project independent of the prison complex to replace Mountjoy Prison, and will be owned and managed by the Health Service Executive (HSE). The new hospital will be built on its own campus and will retain its identity as a distinct therapeutic health facility with a separate entrance and address to the prison complex. It is not envisaged at this stage that any legislative amendment will be required to facilitate the disposal of the current hospital and the construction of a replacement facility at Thornton Hall.