The new Central Mental Hospital (CMH) was officially opened on Friday in Portrane, north Co Dublin.
The new facility, which cost in the region of €200 million to construct, will provide care for up to 130 patients. Capacity will rise to 170 when the campus is fully operational.
The facility was completed in 2020, but the arrival of patients was repeatedly delayed because of staffing issues.
Distinct units within the hospital campus will cater to different patients, including a pre-discharge unit, female unit, mental health intellectual disability unit, high-secure unit and a medium-secure unit.
As well as providing care for adults, the hospital also includes a Forensic Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (FCAMHS).
Community and prison in-reach services will also be hosted at the Portrane campus.
The campus includes other recreational amenities, such as a a horticultural area, a gym, a woodwork workshop and a music room, while a series of courtyards and secure perimeter gardens allow patients direct access to nature from each ward.
The CMH was previously housed in a Victorian-era facility in Dundrum, with many of the buildings dating back to 1852.
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said the opening of the new facility marked a "significant and historic day for the Irish health service".
"This fantastic new facility brings real and necessary change to the lives of some of the most vulnerable in our society. This opening reiterates the Government’s commitment that healthcare to this vulnerable group should be delivered on the same values, principles and approaches that apply to all others in society," he said.
Patrick Bergin, Head of Service at the CMH, said: "We now have the opportunity to be a centre of excellence and evolve our delivery of treatment and care for patients further. This is a welcome day for patients, family/ carers and our staff and this new facility provides us with opportunities to be a world leader in this specialist field."
Minister for Justice Helen McEntee also spoke at the opening, stating: "We know that many those who end up engaging with our criminal justice system have higher rates of mental health and addiction challenges then the rest of the population and if we are to create safer communities and reduce crime, we have to ensure we have properly resourced, appropriately located systems of care in place for the most vulnerable people in society.
"It is for this reason that the work of the High Level Task Force is so important and why I am so pleased to congratulate my colleagues in the Department of Health on the opening of the NFMHS, which is a key health objective of the High Level Taskforce Report," she said.
