Funding to be raised from the sale of lands attached to some psychiatric hospitals will not deal with the level of under-funding in mental health services, the Mental Health Commission has said.
The commission says that funding for the mental health sector now amounts to 6.8% of the total health budget.
While welcoming Government plans to use money from the sale of lands, the commission pointed out that this source of funding was identified in 1984 in the health policy document, 'Planning for the Future'.
The closure of older institutional-type hospitals must not take place before community-based services are fully in place for patients, the commission added.
