Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I want to thank all the groups here for their work because we need people like them to get on to the Government and to shout and wave the flag. I want to stick to two matters because a lot of this has been covered. Ms Coyle mentioned that the Government should be ambitious with this Bill. Mental Health Reform mentioned the optional protocol and I brought it up in a previous meeting. That is what makes this Bill ambitious if we can get it in. Everything would have to be based on the needs of a person. One can go through any section of any Bill and it can be tweaked but I will go back to previous Governments and former Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin. He fought hard for this to be ratified in the Disabilities Act 2005 but unfortunately it was not. Should there be a line in this legislation that demands that the ratification of the optional protocol should happen on the day the Bill is passed? Would that give strength to the optional protocol? My fear is that it will not be supported because this Government and past Governments have not had the capability to provide the services that follow on from that protocol.

Mr. Farrelly mentioned advocacy, which we spoke about. Mental Health Reform mentioned the complaints mechanism and the experiences users had. That is important because people do not know. I said in the last meeting that we are a reactive society instead of being proactive and when people are at their worst ebb the last thing they want is to be handcuffed by members of An Garda Síochána because we do not have proper services. As well as that, family members do not get the information on what will happen, what the protocol is, what the rules are or where the mechanisms for complaining are. Mr. Farrelly also mentioned the expansion of community services and I have a fear there. The Mental Health Commission has done work on recent reports and it is doing its job as it should but others are failing to step up to the mark. I would have here the optional protocol in this Bill but should there be anything more on the likes of advocacy? Should that be strengthened? That is about it. Everything else has been covered. I am worried that the Bill will not be the crème de la crèmeif that optional protocol is not part of it.