Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am glad the Deputy raised the question. I do not say this as a cliché; it is an important point. Ireland signed the convention in 2007 but has been unable to ratify it because pieces of legislation must be put through. This morning, the Government approved the road map for those pieces of legislation. The first one, Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Bill, is on Report Stage tomorrow. It should be finished tomorrow and then be referred to the Seanad. It is important to mention the other related pieces of legislation. The Department is working on a general scheme of a mental health Bill which will be published next year. Work is under way on replacing section 5 of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 1993 and enactment is expected in early 2016. The amendment to section 4 of the Criminal Law (Insanity) Act 2006 to address the discriminatory treatment of persons whose decision making capacity is in question. On the deprivation of liberty, legislative clarity is required on nursing homes and similar residential care facilities which have statutory responsibility for a decision that a patient should not leave for health and safety reasons and the appeals processes that should be in place. Section 42 of the Electoral Act 1992 regarding the ineligibility of a "person of unsound mind" to stand for election will require careful consideration and the position must be published. Given that the term "person of unsound mind" is gone, the legislation must be dealt with. Ireland has taken the view that we should publish and deal with the necessary legislation before we ratify the convention, and this is set out in the road map we approved today.

See this speech in context