Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

On Deputy Mac Lochlainn's amendment No. 250, section 104 already provides that this Bill does not authorise a person to take a decision to give a patient treatment for mental disorder or to consent to that treatment where that is regulated by Part 4 of the 2001 Act. The Department of Health is currently developing its policy approach regarding the review of the Mental Health Act. This will include considering the specific situation of persons who lack capacity and who require treatment for mental illness. In this context, it is not appropriate to include a specific provision in this Bill relating to informal decision makers and decisions regarding the admission or detention of a person in a mental health service. My view, in any case, is that the provisions concerning informal decision makers should be as limited as possible as the aim is that any decisions needing to be taken on behalf of a person lacking capacity should be taken by those who are subject to oversight under the Bill. For these reasons, I cannot accept the Deputy’s amendment No. 250 or the consequential amendment No. 243. I would ask the Deputy not to press his amendments. We have already had a detailed discussion on this subject. I understand the worries about mental health reforms but this element needs to be dealt with and would be dealt with much better under the review of the Mental Health Act 2001, where we will put in the necessary safeguards. I am not certain that the Deputy read the recommendations of the review panel but they are quite comprehensive and deal with a range of issues including capacity. If the Deputy were to take a look at those recommendations he will see that we are dealing with the issue under the review of the Mental Health Act. This is not the appropriate vehicle for this point.