Results 41-60 of 4,343 for speaker:Sorca Clarke

Mental Health Bill 2024: Report and Final Stages (9 Jul 2025)

Sorca Clarke: With the greatest respect to all those health professionals and to the Minister of State, nobody knows what is going to happen in the future. There may be a presumption of two or three weeks but that presumption may turn out to be false. There may be a presumption of a week that turns out to be false. None of us has the ability to see into the future. I agree with what the Minister of...

Mental Health Bill 2024: Report and Final Stages (9 Jul 2025)

Sorca Clarke: I move amendment No. 51: In page 68, between lines 6 and 7, to insert the following: “(4) The use of chemical restraint shall be notified to the Mental Health Commission within 24 hours and made available for review upon request by the individual or their advocate.”. This amendment relates directly to the use of chemical restraint on those subject to involuntary...

Mental Health Bill 2024: Report and Final Stages (9 Jul 2025)

Sorca Clarke: After such a length of time since the Bill was introduced, that is simply not good enough. Chemical restraint must be governed with the same clear rules and subject to the same level of oversight as any other restrictive practice outlined in this Bill. I do not know why the decision was made to take out the reference to chemical restraint but that was the Minister of State's decision and...

Mental Health Bill 2024: Report and Final Stages (9 Jul 2025)

Sorca Clarke: I move amendment No. 47: In page 64, line 21, after “made” to insert “within 5 days” This amendment relates to a potentially prolonged involuntary treatment period without timely access to decision-making supports. This amendment seeks to put in a definitive timeframe for when an application to the Circuit Court to put decision-making supports in place for...

Mental Health Bill 2024: Report and Final Stages (9 Jul 2025)

Sorca Clarke: I fundamentally disagree with the last part where the Minister of State said it should be left to secondary legislation. This House has seen no secondary legislation. I agree that regulations have a place, but it is not here. It would not give the confidence or reassurance to a patient who is being involuntarily detained, their loved ones or their advocates that at some point a regulation...

Mental Health Bill 2024: Report and Final Stages (9 Jul 2025)

Sorca Clarke: I move amendment No 30: In page 37, between lines 39 and 40, to insert the following: “(c) where a person is subject to involuntary treatment for a period exceeding 21 days, shall carry out a formal capacity assessment at regular intervals to determine whether the criteria for continued involuntary treatment still apply.”.

Mental Health Bill 2024: Report and Final Stages (9 Jul 2025)

Sorca Clarke: I move amendment No. 29: In page 37, line 22, after “for” to insert “no more than”. As the Chair said, amendments Nos. 29 and 30 are related. They concern one of the issues that has most frequently been brought to my attention since Committee Stage of the Bill, namely, the extension of the involuntary detention period from 21 days to, potentially, 42 days....

Mental Health Bill 2024: Report and Final Stages (9 Jul 2025)

Sorca Clarke: I understand that completely. My concern is that “not later than five years” can mean four years and 364 days. I want to see something that is more tangible, and I think it needs to be put into this Bill. While five years is a standardised approach, two and a half years is much more effective because it allows us, as legislators, to make the appropriate changes as soon as...

Mental Health Bill 2024: Report and Final Stages (9 Jul 2025)

Sorca Clarke: By not accepting the amendment and not recognising the value of the two and a half year interim review, the Minister of State is closing the door on potential learnings for the new parts of the Bill that may not be enacted or may not be fully in place. There may be very valuable learnings from parts of the Bill that have been enacted and the services that have been in place for two and a...

Mental Health Bill 2024: Report and Final Stages (9 Jul 2025)

Sorca Clarke: I move amendment No. 2: In page 16, to delete lines 32 to 35 and substitute the following: “ “mental health difficulty” and/or “psychosocial disability” mean, in relation to a person, any mental disorder, illness or disability, whether of a continuous or intermittent nature, which affects the person’s thinking, perception, emotion, or mood and...

Mental Health Bill 2024: Report and Final Stages (9 Jul 2025)

Sorca Clarke: I move amendment No. 9: In page 21, line 9, after “Act” to insert “and shall carry out an interim review after 2.5 years”. This is an area that has me very concerned. While five years is some progress, it is not enough. The Government has the opportunity here to put some very real and substantial oversight into the Bill by accepting the Sinn Féin...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Legal and Policy Gaps in Adult Safeguarding: Discussion (9 Jul 2025)

Sorca Clarke: I thank the witnesses for the conversation and information this morning. My instinct as a TD and a human is to ask why we are still having this conversation. There is no single authority or relevant legislation, and the policy we have is 11 years old. The public would be absolutely horrified if this were to be a headline on a national newspaper, and they would be right to be absolutely...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Legal and Policy Gaps in Adult Safeguarding: Discussion (9 Jul 2025)

Sorca Clarke: I asked about the potential repercussions for a social worker who was ignored after raising concerns.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Departmental Correspondence (9 Jul 2025)

Sorca Clarke: 212. To ask the Minister for Health if she will respond to correspondence from a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38161/25]

Student Fees: Motion [Private Members] (8 Jul 2025)

Sorca Clarke: What kind of government looks struggling students in the eye and says, "You're on your own"? That would be those sitting on the opposite side of the House. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael came into power on a narrative of fairness and support for young people, and access to education, but instead we got the Minister touting that student fees will rise in September. From the Taoiseach, the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (8 Jul 2025)

Sorca Clarke: 390. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the current average processing time for schools’ applications to the NCSE for additional SNA supports following a formal diagnosis; the difference in response time between mainstream schools and special schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37175/25]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (8 Jul 2025)

Sorca Clarke: 391. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the average waiting time for a child with a diagnosis of moderate to severe or profound intellectual disability to be offered an appropriate school placement, by county, and by category of need, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37176/25]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: National Educational Psychological Service (8 Jul 2025)

Sorca Clarke: 393. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the current average waiting time for a psychological assessment through NEPS in DEIS versus non-DEIS school; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37188/25]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Home Schooling (8 Jul 2025)

Sorca Clarke: 394. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the average processing time for the home tuition grant scheme applications for children without school placements; the number of applications delayed beyond 30 working days in the past year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37189/25]

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Visa Applications (8 Jul 2025)

Sorca Clarke: 617. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the average waiting time for approval of long-stay (D) student visa applications from India, Nigeria, Brazil and China, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37205/25]