Dr. Shari McDaid:

In Mental Health Reform's view, excluding people involuntarily detained in psychiatric units from the right to an advance health care directive under the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 is clearly discriminatory. It is clearly contrary to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The Mental Health Act 2001 is simply out of line with the UNCRPD. In March 2015, a Government-appointed expert group made 165 recommendations for reform. Only one recommendation has been enacted.

The Mental Health (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill passed Second Stage on 2 May and is now before the committee. It strengthens the rights of people when in hospital for mental health treatment. We advocate that the committee prioritise this Bill in this session. We ask members to ensure that the Government delivers the comprehensive legislation required to reform the mental health civil law by the end of this year and to verify the promised timeline.

People in emotional distress face unacceptable gaps in services. Out-of-hours support from the HSE's mental health services is uneven and inadequate. This year again we have closure of some child and adolescent mental health services to new referrals due to lack of staff. There is undercapacity in primary care mental health supports and there are waiting lists for counselling services in third level education.

The Government's meagre allocation of just €15 million towards implementing A Vision for Change in 2017 fails to meet the clear commitment in the confidence and supply arrangement to fully implement the policy. It is time the Government was held to account for this commitment. Today we ask the committee to urgently prioritise consideration of the Mental Health (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2017 and ensure it returns to the Dáil for Report and Final Stages before the summer recess; to seek real clarity from the HSE on expenditure to date of the 2017 allocation of €15 million in development funding and on any unspent funding from previous years; to call the Department of Health and the HSE together, before the summer recess, to account together on the funding required in 2018 to deliver on the confidence and supply arrangement commitment to full implementation of A Vision for Change, including the deficit accrued from this year's shortfall in allocation; and to establish with the Department of Health the timeframe and the process for the review of A Vision for Change

People with mental health difficulties depend on the committee's actions and on its advocacy. I thank the committee for its consideration.