Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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Question 93: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the reason a unit designed to cater for the needs of children and teenagers with serious psychiatric problems remains closed almost seven months after the Health Service Executive announced its official opening; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39365/09]

Dan Neville (Limerick West, Fine Gael)
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Question 144: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the reason the eight bed in-patient facility for child and adolescent psychiatric patients remains closed to patients almost seven months after it was officially opened by her Minister for State. [39264/09]

John Moloney (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 93 and 144 together.

The Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Unit at St Stephen's Hospital Cork is a new regional interim facility which will provide specialist in-patient mental health services for children and adolescents who present with severe emotional and behavioural disorders. The service will be provided at St Stephen's, pending the completion of a new 20 bed in-patient unit and school facility, which is currently under construction on the grounds of the Sacred Heart Convent at Bessboro, Blackrock, Cork.

A Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist and a Director of Nursing have been appointed and have taken up their positions at the interim facility. New medical, nursing and therapy staff have recently taken up employment and are currently undergoing training. Additional staff will be appointed in due course through a combination of redeployment and recruitment.

As the required staff are now in place, it is anticipated that the admission process of children to the unit will commence next week. ^^ Hospital Accommodation. ^^

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 94: To ask the Minister for Health and Children her plans to address the issue of beds in public hospitals which are assigned for public patients being used for private patients; if there is a mechanism in place whereby the public system will be reimbursed for the use of such beds; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39296/09]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Independent)
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All persons ordinarily resident in Ireland have full eligibility for hospital services. Although public hospitals treat private patients, the core purpose of the public system is to provide services for public patients. Government policy has been to ensure there is equitable access for public patients and, accordingly, that the proportion of private activity is appropriately controlled. Furthermore care is needed to ensure that a perceived need to generate income does not operate to the detriment of service provision to public patients. Subject to these objectives being achieved, effective mechanisms are needed to recover whatever income is due in respect of the accommodation of private patients.

The overall approach to the control of private activity in publicly funded hospitals consists of a number of components. Under the Health (In-Patient) Regulations, 1991, beds in public hospitals are categorised as public, private or non-designated. Under these regulations, no private patient being admitted electively may be accommodated in a designated public bed. The regulations contain reciprocal provisions regarding the accommodation of public patients in beds designated as private. There is provision for some exceptions to cater for emergencies and an instruction has been issued which permits the accommodation of a public patient in a designated private bed where this is necessary to manage healthcare acquired infections.

Hospital consultants are subject to a maximum permitted level of private practice, the extent of which varies according to the specific contract held. I have emphasised to the HSE the importance of effective enforcement of the terms of the consultant contract and the Executive and the management of individual hospitals are working to address those cases where individual consultants' private practice exceeds the permitted level.

With the support of my Department, the HSE is working to improve business processes for collecting outstanding debts due from private health insurers in respect of patients using private facilities in public hospitals.

I have no plans to alter the existing arrangements in order to enable the HSE to levy an accommodation charge in respect of the situations referred to by the Deputy as I believe it would be contrary to the fundamental purpose of public hospital services.