Plans for Lispopple residents to proceed

The Northern Area Health Board will proceed with plans to house former psychiatric patients at a house near Swords, Co Dublin, despite malicious damage to the property.

Carlton House at Lispopple has been picketed for more than a week by residents protesting at the board's plans to house in their community people they describe as "by their very nature unstable". The proposed residents are patients at St Ita's psychiatric hospital in Portrane, Co Dublin.

The eight-bedroom house was broken into early on Friday morning. Mirrors and toilets were smashed, cisterns were damaged and petrol was poured over newly-laid carpet. Plans for the residents to move in this week have had to be postponed.

A health board spokeswoman said it was "upset by the events", adding it would "continue to invite residents to work with us on moving this on".

"The board is implementing Government and health board policy to deinstitutionalise patients by bringing them back into more `normal' living conditions . . . Every person we hope will move into the house in the next few weeks has been clinically assessed," she said.

The organising committee behind the protesting pickets has been quick to distance itself from the malicious damage. Mr Paddy Brennan, chairman of Lispopple residents' association, said his members were "appalled" by the vandalism. "Nobody on our committee knows anything about this," he said.

The modern suburban house, which was bought just before Christmas, will be staffed on a 24-hour basis. The health board spokeswoman said residents would be working during the day - some in formal employment, in therapy sessions and taking part in the upkeep of the house and its garden.

Asked about labelling of the residents as unstable, she said it was "unfortunate" that such an attitude existed. "There is so much mental ill-health around us, the people don't even want to acknowledge that. These patients are looking for a welcome and a spirit of generosity."