Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

I thank Deputy Clarke. Amendment No. 51 does not provide for a definition of "chemical restraint" or "advocate", two terms which have not been used elsewhere in the Bill. Amendment No. 52, proposed by Deputy Quaide, exactly matches the text of the published general scheme and includes terms that have not been used in the Bill itself. The Department has not included provisions on the use of chemical restraint in the Bill as initiated or as amended. While a reference was included in the published general scheme of the Bill, there was not a consensus on what constituted chemical or pharmacological restraint, the extent to which it is used in Ireland or a definition of the practice. At a practical level, when a doctor administers medication to a person, it should always be for the purposes of improving the condition of that person. Everyone will agree that the issue of chemical restraint is complicated. I do not believe the amendments proposed here today adequately address the complexities of the issue. It may be more appropriate for a future review of this enactment to consider the matter in greater detail. I will refer the question to the Mental Health Commission for its opinion.

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