Enabling works on a new acute mental health facility on the Sligo University Hospital campus is to begin in June.

Fianna Fáil TD for Sligo-Leitrim Eamon Scanlon welcomed the announcement.

He said: "Plans for this unit have been almost 10 years in the making and I am glad that we now have a roadmap for the delivery of the project.

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"Mental health services in the North West have been under severe pressure over the past number of years, and while this unit will not be open until the end of 2019, it will be a state of the art facility which will cater for the needs of some of the most vulnerable people in our community.

"Following correspondence with the Health Minister, the HSE has now confirmed to me that enabling works are due to begin by June of this year, with the main construction expected to get underway in early 2018."

The unit is scheduled to open before the end of 2019.

(CD/MH)