Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

I am not going to support this amendment because I believe it is unnecessary. We are currently in the second year of a three-year implementation plan for Sharing the Vision. This is the second of three such implementation plans over the lifespan of this policy. Furthermore, it would be inappropriate for the Minister to be answerable to the Mental Health Commission because it is the regulator. Instead, an independent national implementation and monitoring committee, NIMC, oversees the progress of Sharing the Vision's implementation plan. Arising from an independent review of the NIMC structures completed in 2023, the NIMC prepares and approves two status reports for publication on the Department's website every year. The chair updates the Minister following approval of the report by the NIMC, so a status report already exists concerning the Sharing the Vision policy and timelines. For this reason, I am not in a position to accept this proposed amendment.

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