Mental health body welcomes scrapping of CMH move

The Irish Mental Health Coalition (IMHC) has welcomed the move not to relocate the Central Mental Hospital to Thornton Hall, north Co Dublin.

“We applaud the Minister for Disability, Mental Health and Equality, and the Department of Health and Children for this decision," said IMHC chair John Saunders in a statement.

“Putting the country’s flagship mental hospital next to a large prison would have had a stigmatising effect on people already vulnerable because of their mental health difficulties. For some time the IMHC has been calling on the Government to reverse this decision.”

John Moloney, Minister of State for Disability, Mental Health and Equality, told the Dáil yesterday that “a number of difficulties have emerged with the Thornton Hall site”, adding that the main problem was that the 20-acre site was not large enough to include all the necessary facilities.

“The IMHC welcomes the Minister’s confirmation that Thornton Hall is no longer a viable site and urges him to live up to his promise to provide a new, fully equipped and properly staffed Central Mental Hospital as quickly as possible," Saunders added.