The new National Forensic Mental Health Service (NFMHS) Hospital, which will replace the Central Mental Hospital in Dundrum, should be completed by the end of 2018, the Department of Health has said.

This week, the Minister for Mental Health, Social Care and Primary Care, Kathleen Lynch, turned the sod on the new hospital, which is to be built on the grounds of St Ita's Hospital in Portrane.

When complete, it will comprise of a 120-bed adult forensic hospital, a 10-bed child and adolescent unit and a 10-bed mental health intellectual disability unit.

Planning permission for the new hospital was granted by An Bord Pleanala in June 2015 and the first works on the site began this week.

It has long been established that the Central Mental Hospital is not fit for purpose. Furthermore, the Department of Health acknowledges that the St Ita's campus ‘has been in decline for a number of year'.

Therefore, alongside the development of the new NFMHS Hospital, the HSE will ‘prioritse the re-use, future maintenance and management of the existing St Ita's Hospital red brick buildings, which are protected structures', as well as surrounding areas.

St Ita's will continue to provide specialist services for those with intellectual disabilities, as well as child and adult mental health services.

"This is a welcome development for people with the most severe, enduring and disabling mental disorders. The new hospital will provide a modern, safe and secure therapeutic environment. This will enable the HSE's NFMHS to work with our patients and their families to achieve their recovery," commented NFMHS executive director, Prof Harry Kennedy.