Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 25 January 2022

Joint Committee On Health

General Scheme of the Mental Health (Amendment) Bill 2021 (Resumed): Office of the Ombudsman for Children

Dr. Karen McAuley:

Part of it was about there being parity between the two pieces of legislation. This is because the circumstances are different but, at the end of the day, there is a child involved.

If a guardian ad litemis to be appointed, unless the best interests of a child can be determined without the appointment of one under the Child Care (Amendment) Act, then there should be parity here.