Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 143:

In page 105, between lines 13 and 14, to insert the following:“(3) Save as provided in subsections (1) and (2) or otherwise expressly provided by any other provision of this Act, this Act applies to patients receiving treatment in an approved centre.”.

This amendment addresses the position of patients whose treatment is regulated by Part 4 of the Mental Health Act. The relevant section in the Bill provides that nothing in the Bill authorises a person to give a patient treatment for mental disorder or to consent to a patient being given treatment for a mental disorder if, at the time when it is proposed to treat the patient, his or her treatment is regulated by Part 4 of the Mental Health Act. However, there is nothing in the current Bill that specifically enables patients in approved centres to avail of the assisted decision-making provisions of the Bill. We consider that patients in approved centres should have the same rights as others to avail of assisted decision-making in respect of day-to-day decisions. We consider that the Bill should contain a clear statement that it applies in full to all patients in approved centres, save in so far as section 104 applies to any such patient. The inclusion of an express statement to this effect will ensure that the benefits of the legislation are available to people in approved centres. This amendment is not intended to be taken as an endorsement of the current provisions in Part 4 of the Mental Health Act, and previous submissions to the Department of Health regarding the review of the Mental Health Act should be borne in mind in this context. This amendment addresses specific concerns by ensuring that this Act will apply to all patients in approved centres.

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