The Tánaiste defended the Government's decision to locate the Central Mental Hospital adjacent to a new prison complex in north Dublin.
Ms Harney insisted that there would be no link between the proposed new prison and the mental hospital.
"I agree that there should be no link. A group was established under the auspices of Indecon some time ago, which included among its members the director of nursing, the manager and the medical director of the Central Mental Hospital," she added.
"It unanimously recommended that a new stand-alone facility should be acquired for the hospital. Other than the fact that they will share the same 150-acre site, the two facilities will have nothing in common."
The Tánaiste said it was not easy to get the type of land required for the facilities close to the centre of Dublin.
"We do not have enormous amounts of land at our disposal. There will be separate entrances and addresses and no link whatever. Although from time to time, some people are moved from prison to the Central Mental Hospital, there is no link in terms of either the management or operation of the two facilities."
Ms Harney was replying to the Fine Gael leader, Mr Enda Kenny, who urged her to focus on what the decision said about modern society's view of mental illness.
"A recent report from the mental health association stated that people suffering from mental health difficulties experience considerable stigma and suggested that priority should be given to changing public attitudes towards people living with a diagnosis of mental illness," he added.
"There will be no argument from this side of the House about the need to replace the current appalling and Dickensian conditions which exist at the Central Mental Hospital. Is it necessary, however, to locate an alternative facility next to a major prison? A number of groups working with the mentally ill, including Schizophrenia Ireland and Aware, have stated that this decision will only add to the stigma and discrimination they have been fighting to end."
Mr Kenny suggested that the decision would only further stigmatise those suffering from men- tal illness. "Is the decision based more on economics and administrative ease than on meeting the needs of the patients of the Central Mental Hospital and tackling the stigmatisation of mental illness ?"
He wondered, he said, if the decision was driven by the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell. "Is this to be his equivalent of the 'Bertie Bowl' and his legacy for the future?"
Ms Harney said she agreed that the mental hospital should not be part of the prison complex and neither would it be. "However, the worst-case scenario for the residents of the Central Mental Hospital would be to leave them where they are," she added. "I understand the conditions there are very unsatisfactory for 2005."
She said the Government had decided it would be better to acquire the 150 acres to provide two separate and distinct facilities in that area. "There are many examples of public hospitals located close to existing prisons and no one ever suggests there is a link between them," she added.
