Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

Again, this amendment relates to people who are involuntarily detained who do not have capacity. In many cases a person can regain some level of decision-making capacity within two to three weeks of admission. If an application is made on behalf of all these people, the vast majority of the applications will not be required as they will have regained capacity a short number of days after the making of the application. Requiring that applications to the Circuit Court be made within five days of a person being assessed as lacking capacity will be incredibly resource-intensive both for mental health services and for the Courts Service.

It is appropriate to leave the decision on when to apply to court within the period after admission to the person’s responsible consultant psychiatrist and multidisciplinary team. It is important to stress that any time a person is involuntarily detained in any approved centre or department of psychiatry, the Mental Health Commission is informed.

That is another safeguard to be aware of. People who are involuntarily detained will also be entitled to a tribunal. It is important to allow mental healthcare professionals to prioritise applications in respect of people they do not expect to regain capacity rather than taking up court time making applications in respect of people who are expected to regain capacity within a short period of time after admission.

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