I am concerned about how easily the phrase "water tax" slipped off the Taoiseach's tongue. I hope it was not a Freudian slip. The Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, Deputy Tim O'Malley, with the support of the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children, announced that the buildings and land around all or most of the 15 psychiatric hospitals are to be sold. The intention is clearly to transfer this invaluable public asset to developers who will seek to make yet another killing in land speculation, apartment development or the like. This follows the similar land sale mania of the Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Deputy Parlon, and the intention of the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children to facilitate a major privatisation in the health services through handing similar land around general hospitals to profit-seeking capitalists on considerable tax breaks from the Government, who will again seek to make significant profits out of human health and illness.

It appears that while Progressive Democrats Ministers sit on publicly owned assets in the Departments, they are like cats on a hot tin roof and cannot wait until they have flogged the assets to speculators and developers. All Independent Deputies in the Technical Group are extremely concerned about this departure. They speak with authority as health concerns played a very important role in the election of a number of them. Does the Taoiseach acknowledge the fear of many people, who are very concerned about the level of psychiatric care in this State, that the Progressive Democrats' rush to put the hospitals and land under the hammer will not be matched by a similar speed in providing the range of services urgently required by those needing psychiatric support services?

While it is agreed that the massive Victorian and Dickensian institutions do not represent the future for psychiatric care, does the Taoiseach not agree that these sites, which are publicly owned, should be seen as a major social and community asset rather than the subject of a quick property sale? Does he not agree that psychiatric services could be developed on these sites, taking account of modern conditions and ideas, and that other public medical services and services such as community and disability services could be developed as an alternative to simply getting rid of these sites and wondering what to do next? How far has this process gone and what has the Taoiseach approved in this regard?

The expert group on mental health policy has completed its work on the preparation of a new national policy framework for the future development of mental health services and its report has been published recently. The Health Act 2004 provided for the establishment of the Health Service Executive, which has responsibility for the management and delivery of health and personal social services, including mental health services. The report of the expert group concluded that the large, old institutional psychiatric hospitals should be phased out over the remainder of this decade and the early years of the next decade and that the resources freed up by the sale of these assets should be used to develop community-based mental health services rather than institutional services. The report recommended a transfer of resources from mental health institutions either directly into the community or into the development of acute psychiatric care facilities linked to national teaching hospitals.

That is the basis for the report. It has been recognised since the publication of Planning for the Future in the mid-1980s that it is far better to move away from highly populated institutional facilities towards smaller units in the community which are akin to residential housing units. This trend has led to the almost total depopulation of St. Brendan's Hospital in Grangegorman, which has been transformed into a combined third level education institute under the control of the Dublin Institute of Technology. There is a cost factor involved in such exchanges. An exchange of resources took place between the Departments of Health and Children and Education and Science. The aim is to build up proper community-based services for these patients in the future, which appears to be a very progressive way of dealing with people with mental illness.

What is the degree of co-ordination between the various Departments in respect of these issues and the question of land sale? Is the Taoiseach aware that the Office of Public Works knew about the policy decision concerning psychiatric hospitals? The OPW has sought sites around the country for decentralised offices for public servants. Whether anybody will be found to fill them is a matter which we will leave for another day. Land prices in the regions have been driven up by the fact that the State is in the market for land. The Government has refused to take measures to control the price of land. Was there co-ordination between the OPW and the Department of Health and Children? Any one of the 15 sites might be suitable for developing community or State offices, or whatever is required for decentralisation.

The Deputy's time has concluded.

What other investigation will take place to ascertain the community and other State services that could be located on these sites? In light of the Government's lamentable record on social housing, one could ask why an element of social housing could not be accommodated on these publicly owned sites? In many cases, these sites are located in areas which would be eminently suitable to social housing and other community services.

The work of the expert group on mental health policy has been completed and approved by the Government. It decided that the ten or 15 mental institutions around the country should be closed over the next five to seven years. The resources obtained should be transferred into the community and spent building a good and proper mental health service. This year we will spend approximately €800 million on mental health services but more resources will be required in order to develop the service within the community. The OPW is involved in all the property deals on behalf of the State. While issues may arise about its procurement policy for some other purpose, the State must realise the money to reinvest it in the service.

On the question of the availability of land, the Department of Health and Children has been one of the progressive Departments in handing over land to the State for the affordable housing initiative. Approximately 70 State-owned sites have been made available by a number of Departments to assist the affordable housing initiative. Approximately 1,100 of these houses have been completed. Approximately 2,000 will be built this year. Some of these involve land swaps so things can move more quickly. Others are going through the planning process.

More than €3 billion has been spent on social housing. Enormous sums of taxpayers' money is being spent on social housing. The recommendation of the expert group on mental health is to move these lands away from the old institutional arrangements and to develop quality community services for people suffering from mental illness.