A Kerry TD has called for a plan to be formulated for the future use of former mental health facility, St Finan’s, in Killarney.
Speaking in the Dáil, Kerry Independent TD Danny Healy-Rae said the listed stone building, once owned and managed by Kerry County Council, now transferred to the HSE, should not be sold to private interests.
Danny Healy-Rae said a plan needs to be formulated for the future of St Finan’s and its lands, and made a number of suggestions as to potential uses.
Deputy Danny Healy-Rae said now, especially in light of the fire which gutted the building at Our Lady’s Hospital, Shanakiel in Cork, security needs to be in place at St Finan’s ’24 seven’.
The deputy said parts of St Finan’s roof are leaking and the building, situated adjacent to Fitzgerald Stadium, may soon be derelict.
He said the Government and the Health Minister need to formulate a plan and called on the HSE to liaise with Kerry County Council on the proposed future use of the remaining land.
Deputy Healy-Rae said lands could be used to provide housing or social housing or to provide a safer access route from the town onto the bypass, used as a car-park or even developed as a graveyard.
Responding to Deputy Healy-Rae, Minister Richard Bruton said the HSE would be very interested in working with local communities if there were viable proposals for its future use.
He said if local group put plans together for which there is a solid business case, the Government will be keen to examine them in the context of whether they could be factored in in planning the future use of the site.
