Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 25 May 2021

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health

Impact of Covid-19 on Human Rights and Mental Health: Discussion

Photo of Seán CroweSeán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We share the Deputy's frustration about the process that is going on today. We would clearly have liked more time to discuss these matters but the legislation was sprung on us without pre-legislative scrutiny by the committee. That is not best practice. The legislation gives extraordinary powers to the Minister and there is a concern over democratic oversight of legislation that is going through the Dáil. We realise that this legislation has transformed people's lives. It has taken away many of their basic rights. I do not know if members of the committee would like to respond to this, but one of the issues people raise is about the importance of bringing people along with us. Unfortunately, throughout this process, we have not been good at doing that. We have not been good at bringing people along with us in respect of the legislation. Some of the regulations have been of an arbitrary nature. Strikers have been stopped and their names have been taken during the pandemic. People have, in many ways, not been able to protest. People have been forced to give up many powers. They have been unable to bury their dead properly. They have been unable to attend religious ceremonies. Those were all significant decisions that were made, supposedly in the public interest to protect against the pandemic. They have had huge impacts.

I noted that the representatives of Mental Health Reform talked about a survey was carried out by the Department of Health. Some 36% of respondents reported stress and frustration. Some 29% reported sadness while 24% reported loneliness. Those are the highest levels since the surveys began. The Samaritans have been getting an unprecedented number of phone calls. The Garda has reported unprecedented levels of domestic violence. There are difficulties in getting space in a safe refuge for many people who are crying out for help. We know the pandemic has negatively impacted people. I do not know if committee members have a view on this. The committee shares the concerns of our guests about the fact that there has been no real review of these powers. We asked representatives from the Department of Health whether there was going to be a review. If there has been a review, this committee has not had access to its results and that makes it difficult for us to move on.

This meeting has been an attempt to give an overview of the legislation. It is not ideal. We need more time to discuss it and I share the concerns of members in that regard. If we are to give extraordinary powers to a Minister, we need to scrutinise the legislation and the amount of time that has been allocated is clearly insufficient. The legislation has not come to the Dáil yet but I hear the frustration of our colleagues in the Seanad.

The survey indicates a crisis in mental health. Do we know if healthcare workers in mental health areas were withdrawn to be used in other work, such as Covid testing and vaccine roll-out, etc.? Perhaps our guests from Mental Health Reform could respond to that. How did the pandemic impact on services? We heard from parents whose children have special needs that classes had stopped and that lack of routine caused difficulties. Have our guests been picking up how that impacted children?

Many parents have talked about the lack of supports, particularly during the pandemic. Some people have had difficulty in getting through to their GPs. There have been difficulties for people going to accident and emergency departments because the recommendations were not to go unless the situation was an emergency. Is it still the case that many people must take the accident and emergency route in order to access mental health services? Do many parents still have to make an ultimate decision about abandoning a child so that services will follow? That has been said by a number of people.

We were told at the start that this legislation would contain a sunset clause. We are not really in a position to discuss the legislation but would Mr. Herrick have concerns about the continuing and random nature of these powers? Even at this late stage, what can the Minister and the Department do to assure and reassure people that there has been proper scrutiny of the legislation? I have asked a couple of questions of the representatives of both Mental Health Reform and the ICCL.

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