Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Mental Health Commission is a statutory body whose functions are set out in the Mental Health Act 2001. Among its key responsibilities is the establishment and maintenance of a register of approved centres. The Act also provides that the inspector of mental health services visit, inspect and report on every approved centre at least once every year. Details of these inspection reports, including compliance issues, are available on the commission’s website. While the commission has the authority to visit and inspect any other premises where mental health services are provided, the enforcement powers of the commission only apply in the case of approved centres.

As regards the regulation of community-based services by the commission, the expert group review of the Mental Health Act 2001 examined this issue in detail in its 2015 report. The expert group recommended that a proportionate and risk-based system of inspection should be developed by the commission. This would include a phased introduction of registration and inspection of all community mental health teams. In addition, all high, medium and low support hostels, crisis-respite houses, other residential services, day hospitals and day centres would also be subject to inspection and enforcement by the commission.

The expert group also suggested that to enhance the standard of care provided in approved centres, the revised legislation should provide for the Mental Health Commission to make standards in respect of all mental health services and to inspect against those standards. The standards would be made by way of regulations and the regulations would be underpinned by way of primary legislation.

Amendments to the Mental Health Act 2001 based on the recommendations of the expert group review of the Act are being progressed. The Government approved plans to proceed with the general scheme of a Bill. Officials are working on the heads of the amending Bill that will legislate for the recommendations of the review, including those relating to the proposed registration and inspection of community mental health services.

My Department and I accept the importance of advancing this work as quickly as possible. We acknowledge it is taking longer than stakeholders in this area would like. That said, it is a comprehensive legislative undertaking, which must also now take account of the provisions of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015, enacted after completion of the expert group report. I expect the text of the general scheme of a Bill to be significantly advanced by the end of the year.

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