The Office of Public Works (OPW) is proposing to sell the Central Mental Hospital in Dundrum, south Co Dublin, and relocate it along with Mountjoy Prison on a greenfield site, probably in the vicinity of the M1 motorway in north Dublin.
The OPW is currently involved in a review of its property assets and recently sold a number of properties in the Dublin area including a site of less than one acre at Lad Lane for €22.5 million, and 14-16 Lord Edward Street for €8.75million.
The 34-acre Central Mental Hospital is a secure facility to which patients are referred by the courts. It is owned by the East Coast Area Health Board, for the Department of Health.
Speaking at the launch of the OPW annual report for 2003 yesterday, the Minister of State for Finance, Mr Tom Parlon, confirmed the office was interested in a sale of the site and he said it was planned to relocate the services "with Mountjoy jail, somewhere in north Dublin near the M1 motorway". He said no specific site for the new prison/ mental hospital had been identified but locating them together made sense and would tie in with the State's plan to maximise the value of its property assets.
