Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

People Before Profit largely welcome this legislation. There will be amendments and changes made on Committee Stage and, hopefully, at the end of that process, the legislation will be fit for purpose. This has been seven years or more in the making. Some references, for example, those relating to the lunacy laws, date back 140 years, which shows how antiquated this legislation is.

The more I read the Bill, the more I realise how complicated it is. Legal, moral and ethical questions arise and must be answered. At the heart of the debate is the fact that we need to get away from a paternal approach to healthcare, particularly the aspect of it relating to mental health, and to instead have a person-centred health system where the person is at the centre of decisions that are made.

I welcome the decision around wards of court. Those are complicated situations but taking that decision away from the criminal justice system and moving to a support service is welcome. It will oversee the implementation of this legislation.

I listened intently to the concerns outlined by Deputy Cairns. Those concerns should be taken into account. Some campaigners have said there are serious concerns around persons who are involuntarily detained under the Mental Health Act. Those situations must be taken into account when this legislation is finalised.

There is still a long way to go when we consider where this Bill will end up. My understanding is that the deliberations on it must be finished in the next four weeks. On Committee Stage, there will be many amendments to address some of the issues that have been raised.

I hope that future legislation deals with the issue of voluntary assisted dying. If implemented, it would have consequences with regard to advance health decisions and would allow control and choice to those in that situation. I hope that legislation will be introduced and implemented in this country in the near future.

This is a complicated area of law. I am the first person to say that some of the stuff involved is probably beyond my remit. I am probably not qualified to address some of the issues, but I am a legislator, after all, and have been elected by the people of Dublin Mid-West to have an input and a say. I am a voice for campaigners on this issue. We are a conduit for those people to say there are certain matters about which we have concerns but we hope those concerns can be addressed on Committee Stage. We hope that at the end of that process, the legislation will be fit for purpose.

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