Dáil debates

Wednesday, 11 June 2025

Mental Health Bill 2024: Committee Stage

 

10:05 am

Photo of Ruairí Ó MurchúRuairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Many of the circumstances we are discussing we encounter in our work as TDs. I have gone to the Minister of State previously to discuss such circumstances, in which families, the Garda and others who become involved have looked for someone to be involuntarily admitted, generally on the basis that the person has some form of psychosis. Unfortunately, sometimes when GPs are called out, even following arrests under the Mental Health Act, it ends up in a situation where they will only agree to a voluntary admission. Guidelines could be helpful in such circumstances, which is why this amendment is significant.

It seeks to ensure that GPs, appropriate HSE personnel and anyone else who is likely to be involved in these sorts of circumstances have access to guidance on what to do. From talking to people, my understanding is that, in a lot of cases, doctors are very slow to advise involuntary admission, which should be the case, but, in fact, they will only advise it if people are an imminent danger to themselves or others. I am talking about people whose lives have come apart, including everything from maintaining personal hygiene to how and where they are living. There is a pile of circumstances that shout out that there is a mental health issue or disorder. In some instances, they might already have had a diagnosis.

I am afraid that what is countenanced in the Bill will not improve such situations and may even make them more difficult. The vital part of this amendment is the provision to ensure that involuntary admissions happen on the basis that people require care and treatment and they do not have the capacity to make that decision for themselves. We have put gardaí and others in a really difficult circumstance in this regard. I hope the Minister of State will at least meet us halfway on this amendment. Our preference would be that she accept it. If not, I hope we can find some solution in regard to these sets of circumstances. We need a legal framework to be followed up with guidelines that are issued to all the necessary stakeholders. That is absolutely vital.

We are talking about people who require care but who do not believe they require it and are in the throes of psychosis, for example. Gardaí have told me that it would sometimes be preferable if such persons committed a crime and could be arrested and an assessment done while they are in custody. That is not what we want. We definitely do not want to see more people coming through the criminal justice system on that basis, but we have all seen it happening. I am asking whether there is a possibility, in any way, shape or form, that we could find a means of better dealing with circumstances where somebody is in this sort of mental health distress and needs help. We have even seen people outside these buildings where it is obvious they need require mental health treatment but because they are not smashing things up and creating an absolute nuisance at that moment, nothing happens in terms of their being assessed and brought to a situation where they get the treatment that is necessary. I have dealt with a huge number of people in such circumstances. The situation of one such constituent is finally, after many months, being dealt with. Many people, including staff in State services, were trying to get the issue resolved but could not do so.

This reflects a failure of the existing legislation and the Bill before us. The Minister of State needs either to take on this amendment or something similar. It is just not fair to people who are in a really bad set of circumstances, as I have outlined, and who are not getting treatment. I acknowledge that the intention in these proposals is to protect people's rights and that there must be safeguards. We all know about the sorry history of this State in terms of people being placed in institutions. However, sometimes the pendulum does not land in the middle where it should. That is the work we all need to do.

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