Work will now commence on the new Ballyfermot Primary Care and Mental Health Centre after Minister Mary Harney officially turned the first sod on the site.

Located on the old Ballyfermot Mental Health Centre site, the new facility will provide a new and modern setting for continuing the work of local mental health and primary care teams in the locality.

The new centre will be a one stop shop for all the health and social care services for the entire community.

It will provide General Practitioner facilities, Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Speech and Language Therapy, Social Work services, Public Health Nursing, Dental, Community Welfare, Mental Health and provision for Addiction Services.

In addition, the facility will also allow for the provision of a Dietician service, psychology service and be home to the three Primary Cares teams of Drummfinn, Decies Road and Cherry Orchard, while also providing a base for network services for the Ballyfermot area, Chaplelizod and Palmerstown.

The new mental health facilities will consist of a Day Hospital, Day Centre and Outpatients Clinic ensuring the Ballyfermot and Lucan Mental Health Teams can continue their work in the community. The service provides comprehensive care for a wide range of mental illness in a number of settings. For the service user it means they have the option of being treated within their home, family and community as an alternative to hospital admission. In addition, the service also provides assessment and review clinics, specialist clinics and a wide variety of individual and group therapies.

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The sod turning of the new building by Minister Harney marks a significant milestone for the continued development of health services for the people of Ballyfermot/Lucan and the surrounding areas.

This new facility will provide all the Health and Social Care needs in an integrated fashion with both HSE and GP services being provided from the same building.

Adrian Charles, Local Health Manager for HSE Dublin South West said: "The Primary Care Strategy calls for the development of large integrated Primary, Community and Continuing Care Centres throughout the country.

"We are delighted to be here today to commence this building which will represent this model. This centre will provide a better service for the service user and in a more efficient way."

The construction of the new Primary Care and Mental Health Facility is expected to be completed mid 2012.

Meanwhile, a councillor from the Éirígí party has been questioned by Gardaí after a bottle of red paint was thrown at the Minister for Health Mary Harney during the event.

The party claimed responsibility for the protest on its website, identifying Councillor Louise Minihan as responsible for covering the Minister in red paint as she turned the sod at the site of the new Primary Care and Mental Health Centre.

See: Councillor Held Over Harney Paint Protest

(CD/BMcC)