Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

I move amendment No. 266:

In page 150, line 32, to delete “a person” and substitute “an adult”.

Amendments Nos. 266 to 269, inclusive, have been grouped. These amendments relate to the section providing for nominated persons. When a person is in a registered acute mental health centre, they may nominate a person of their choosing to act as their nominated person. This is new and is something that we have been looking at for a long time. This person may be a family member, a friend, a representative of an advocacy service or anyone else they select. This nominated person, with the person’s consent, will be entitled to receive certain information on behalf of the person during their admission. The person concerned may consult them or ask them to attend certain meetings during their admission, such as meetings on discharge planning. I believe the introduction of nominated persons for adults and for children is a positive step and will encourage people to involve their family members and loved ones in their care and treatment.

Amendments Nos. 266 and 268 are technical amendments to replace the term "person" with "adult" in order to provide consistency throughout the Bill. Amendment No. 267 is a technical amendment that rewords the subsection to make it clearer that, along with the will and preferences of the person, the view of the nominated person in relation to the person’s will and preferences must be taken into account by the consultant psychiatrist ordering, initiating or applying a restrictive practice. Amendment No. 269 is a technical amendment to correct references to other sections.

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