Neasa Hourigan (Dublin Central, Green Party)
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I thank the witnesses for their time. This is such an important subject. I think of these sessions as some of the most important work that I will do this year. As stated, this legislation has been a long time coming. Almost all of those who have appeared before the subcommittee over the past year have said that this legislation is so badly needed. I thank the witnesses for their time and their diligence around it.

I have a number of questions around issues raised in today's opening statements and I want to follow-up on some issues brought to our attention by the Mental Health Commission in previous sessions. I will start with the definition of "mental disorder" versus "mental illness". I am also a member of the Joint Committee on Disability Matters which is tasked with implementing the UNCRPD. I am concerned around the idea that "mental disorder" would include intellectual disability as a means for questioning somebody's capacity. I would like to unpack that a little with the witnesses. What are the dangers there?

I misunderstood this, but my understanding is that the reason we have held on to the term "mental disorder" is that it appears, or has previously appeared, in other legislation. Is it time to move on from that? Does it clash with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, UNCRPD? I suspect that it does. Is that something that the drafters of the Bill should consider further?