Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the visitors to the Gallery. I will cut straight to the chase.

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is a positive and important development. It is long since time that the Irish State lived up to the standards in terms of the rights and protections for those with disabilities.

Mental illness is often left out of this discussion yet mental health campaigners have been to the fore in pushing forward the rights agenda in this regardless, particularly in Ireland. It would be remiss of me not to pay tribute to Mental Health Reform and its member organisations which have been vital to my work and the causes we are discussing. I also pay tribute to my colleague, Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin, and Senator John Dolan.

The Government has endeavoured to use the UNCRPD as a way to relieve itself of the responsibility to deal with the enduring rights issues, in particular, for persons with mental ill-health. Ratification means little without the legislative back-up. We have still not commenced fully the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act, now nearly three years old. The lack of movement on this issue is not only denying the right to persons to have an input into their care but is also holding up further needed reform. Another side-effect is that the survivors of the Magdalen laundries have died without even having redress processed.

We had a bit of flip-flopping tonight - we were talking about this - and it may have inconvenienced some of those who would have liked to be here tonight. However, on the plus side, we got a bit of extra time. I note that as well.

I would go through the litany of issues there is with the Government's approach to this but as I have limited time, I will focus on one important point to finish. The Department of Justice and Equality in its roadmap document highlighted the major work needed to meet standards. It has also made clear the intention to sidestep Article 14 on liberty and security of the person by adopting a Norwegian or Australian approach. The UN clearly stated this contradicts the spirit of the convention. It unfairly discriminates against persons with mental health issues allowing for continued enforced detention and treatment of them. Persons with the disability of mental ill-health need equality. I demand the Government explain this position and commit to equality for all. Otherwise ratification will be merely an empty gesture.

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