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

Somehow or other, when we talk about restraint, we always seem to think about someone being tied up or the use of belts or chemicals. In fact, what we propose here is so wide-ranging that it covers everything. It mentions the exclusion of people from their friends and families, which I believe is a form of restraint. What we propose is comprehensive and imposes obligations on the person assisting rather than the person with capacity issues.

The proposed amendments Nos. 181 to 183 remove the requirement that a person with capacity difficulties must have the consent of the court to seek a review of a declaration of incapacity. In regard to restraint, we must accept that most of the people we are talking about here would be in a community setting. However, what we seem to be talking about here is involuntary admission into a psychiatric unit. This does not apply to them. This applies to voluntary admissions or people in the community. We have a much greater safeguard in terms of how people will be treated in this respect, but it is important we enshrine this in our legislation and make it clear there are consequences for people who engage in this type of activity. I am not saying restraint does not happen or will not happen in the future. It would be impossible to give that kind of guarantee.

There are robust restrictions in this legislation and there will be a specific office with a director to which not only the person who lacks capacity in certain instances or the assisted decision-maker but families, friends and community-based people can make complaints about treatment of individuals. To be honest, it is about as good as one could get. It is very robust and comprehensive.