The sale of more than 200 acres of land from 15 mental hospitals is expected to raise hundreds of millions of euros for the health service.
The first of the hospitals expected to be sold is the 70-acre St Ita's Hospital in Portrane, Co Dublin, worth in the region of €800m.
Speaking to the Irish Times newspaper, Tim O'Malley, the Minister of State responsible for mental health services, said getting the best accommodation for psychiatric patients was more important than selling to the highest bidder.
The process of selling or redeveloping the land is expected to take between seven to ten years.
