Mr. John Farrelly:

On behalf of the Mental Health Commission, I thank members for the opportunity to address the committee today. I am joined by my colleague, Ms Orla Keane, general counsel for the commission.

The commission is an independent statutory body established in April 2002 under the provisions of the Mental Health Act. The principal functions of the commission are to promote, encourage and foster the establishment and maintenance of high standards and good practices in the delivery of mental health services and to take all reasonable steps to protect the interests of persons detained in approved centres. We also register and monitor the provision of inpatient mental health services in the State.

The remit of the commission was extended by the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015, which provides for the establishment of the decision support service next year. Our vision is the highest quality mental health and decision support services underpinned by a person's human rights.

In our submission, we focused on the interaction of people with mental illness and An Garda Síochána. People with mental illness represent a growing minority in Ireland and although there have been significant improvements in the attitude towards and treatment of people with mental illness in the justice system, significant barriers still remain. In 2009, the commission and An Garda Síochána issued the Report of the Joint Working Group on Mental Health Services and the Police. That report made a number of recommendations including the creation of a 24-7 statutory social work service, expanded training for members of the Garda and the implementation of adequate diversion programmes to deal with minor criminal matters involving individuals with mental health problems. Twelve years later many of the recommendations have not yet come to fruition. At most, we can say that there has been some limited expansion of training for gardaí, but not to the level required.

Furthermore, since sending the committee the commission's submission, Dr. Susan Finnerty, the Inspector of Mental Health Services, has published her report on Access to Mental Health Services for People in the Criminal Justice System, which raises various concerns and makes recommendations. One issue which we focused on in the submission was the increased volume of applications made under the 2001 Act by members of An Garda Síochána and, more specifically, the increased use of section 12 of the Mental Health Act, which gives a member of An Garda Síochána the power to take a person into custody if he or she believes that a person is suffering from a mental disorder and that because of the mental disorder there is a serious likelihood of the person causing immediate and serious harm to himself or herself or to other persons. Although section 12 was enacted with the expectation that it would be used in exceptional circumstances, there has been a worrying increase in the volume of section 12 applications made. The most recent figures show a 5% increase in the number of section 12 applications made in 2021 as compared to 2020.

The commission is glad to note that the general scheme to amend the 2001 Mental Health Act includes amendments to sections 9 and 12 which will mean that only authorised officers will make applications in the future. However, this does not remove the impetus to make further improvements as it stands. An Garda Síochána still remains the only agency immediately available, day and night, to respond to crises in the community. The limited training and support available to the force creates a situation where the most vulnerable in our society are being failed.

The commission met with members of An Garda Síochána in July and is awaiting further information on a number of matters raised at that meeting. We have offered to assist with to the expansion of Garda training in mental health matters and it is our hope that through increased training and the implementation of an adequate diversion system by An Garda Síochána and the HSE, we can improve the experience of people with mental illness who interact with the justice system and that such people will receive appropriate treatment.

As outlined in our submission, we have had a number of stakeholder initiatives. We have met organisations like Cairde already and will be meeting Pavee Point in December.