James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)

I have the same issue. As a general practitioner I understand the difficulties. I understand the difficulty that arises when a patient is deeply psychotic in the middle of the night and one is trying to get that person into a safe place for care. I understand too the difficulty with staff having to come from the hospital to address this and the related problems. I understand also that another group of individuals with a history of being involved in psychiatric care, psychiatric nurses, have sought to address this through a body they have set up.

However, the main issue is that this Bill has nothing to do with the Bill we were discussing. The Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, which is on the Government legislative programme proposes to dissolve the National Council on Ageing and Older People, the Women's Health Council to subsume the National Cancer Screening Service Board, the Crisis Pregnancy Agency and the Drug Treatment Centre Board into the HSE and to amend the Hepatitis C Compensation Tribunal Act 1997 to remove age limits for travel insurance benefit provided in accordance with that Act. We have gone through three Stages of this Bill and now, suddenly, on Report Stage, the Mental Health Act is introduced. That is totally unsatisfactory.

There was no discourse before this was done. We go no advisory brief and no rationale for this decision. It was just done. We, on this side of the House, would like to be co-operative in addressing the serious issues that afflict the day-to-day running of our service and the care of patients, but this is no way to go about it.

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