Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

I will speak to amendments Nos. 36, 40 to 45, inclusive, and amendment No. 48. The safeguards contained in the amended Bill in relation to consent to treatment are appropriate and balanced. I would like to reiterate that consent to treatment provisions in the Bill, in line with the Mental Health Act 2001, only apply where a person has been assessed as lacking capacity. Outside of very limited circumstances, a person who has capacity cannot be treated without his or her explicit consent. Furthermore, the Bill allows for consent to be granted by a substitute decision-maker where a person lacks capacity. Similarly, if a person has made a valid, relevant advance healthcare directive when he or she had capacity, the decisions in that directive must be respected when the person loses capacity. All people should be encouraged to make advance healthcare directives or to appoint designated healthcare representatives to make sure their will and preferences are respected when they lack capacity.

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