Results 81-100 of 11,754 for speaker:Mary Butler

Mental Health Bill 2024: Committee Stage (11 Jun 2025)

Mary Butler: I move amendment No. 54: In page 26, to delete line 41, and in page 27, to delete lines 1 to 3 and substitute the following: “(6) In this section and section 18, “relevant person” means a person who— (a) is a spouse of the person, the subject of the application, but does not include a spouse who is living separately and apart from the person or in respect of...

Mental Health Bill 2024: Committee Stage (11 Jun 2025)

Mary Butler: I move amendment No. 56: In page 27, line 13, to delete “view” and substitute “opinion”. These are technical amendments to replace the word “view” with “opinion” at various points throughout the Bill.

Mental Health Bill 2024: Committee Stage (11 Jun 2025)

Mary Butler: I move amendment No. 61: In page 29, line 9, before “take” to insert “take all reasonable measures necessary to”. Following publication of the Bill last July, officials in my Department continued to consult key stakeholders. Invaluable feedback was provided by An Garda Síochána and the Department of Justice regarding the provisions on Garda powers...

Mental Health Bill 2024: Committee Stage (11 Jun 2025)

Mary Butler: A significant amount of consultation and research went into drafting the criteria for involuntary admission that are set out in the Bill as initiated. People can perhaps give consent in the morning but then withdraw it in the afternoon. That does not mean they still do not need mental health supports from the multidisciplinary team in the department of psychiatry or the approved centre. It...

Mental Health Bill 2024: Committee Stage (11 Jun 2025)

Mary Butler: The amendment does not speak to what the Deputy just spoke about. He is talking about somebody who has not been involuntarily detained and someone else believes that person should be, such as a family member. That is not what this amendment is about. I am speaking about somebody who is involuntarily detained and may not have had consent when being involuntarily detained but whose status...

Mental Health Bill 2024: Committee Stage (11 Jun 2025)

Mary Butler: -----believes that person should be involuntarily detained. There is a whole section in the Bill with the criteria for involuntary detention. I know the Deputy is talking about people who are very ill and, with the best of intentions, may need to be involuntarily detained. That will always come down to the detention criteria.

Mental Health Bill 2024: Committee Stage (11 Jun 2025)

Mary Butler: The Deputy quoted from a document I have not had a chance to look at. The purpose of this Bill is to support people who are mentally unwell but also to make sure their human rights are respected. This Bill will speak to that. If the Deputy wants to send me a copy of what he quoted from, I can take a look and come back to him with a response.

Mental Health Bill 2024: Committee Stage (11 Jun 2025)

Mary Butler: The threshold has not been lowered; it has been strengthened.

Mental Health Bill 2024: Committee Stage (11 Jun 2025)

Mary Butler: I will make a couple of points about what was raised. To be clear, as regards the amendment that was proposed, sections 2 and 3 of this amendment are already in this section of the Bill. That part of it is already in place. My understanding is that sections 2 and 3 will be agreed. The Mental Health Bill extends the ability of anyone detained under the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity)...

Mental Health Bill 2024: Committee Stage (11 Jun 2025)

Mary Butler: I will touch on what Deputy Quinlivan said about CAST. I acknowledge the Deputy has been very supportive of this from the start. I went to Limerick last October to launch it during Mental Health Week. We often use the word "game-changer" in the Dáil but this is one of the ones that has really made a significant difference. I visited Limerick a couple of weeks ago to meet some of the...

Mental Health Bill 2024: Committee Stage (11 Jun 2025)

Mary Butler: I move amendment No. 34: In page 22, to delete lines 18 to 21 and substitute the following: “ “relevant person” has the meaning assigned to it in section 15;”.

Mental Health Bill 2024: Committee Stage (11 Jun 2025)

Mary Butler: I move amendment No. 35: In page 22, line 24, to delete “section 13;” and substitute “section 13.”.

Mental Health Bill 2024: Committee Stage (11 Jun 2025)

Mary Butler: I move amendment No. 36: In page 22, to delete line 25.

Mental Health Bill 2024: Committee Stage (11 Jun 2025)

Mary Butler: I agree.

Mental Health Bill 2024: Committee Stage (11 Jun 2025)

Mary Butler: So that the Deputy knows, I did not disallow the amendments. They do not come to me.

Mental Health Bill 2024: Committee Stage (11 Jun 2025)

Mary Butler: I know she did not. I am saying it just so she knows. I said I would speak to it because it is an important facet. It is fully accepted that admission to an age-appropriate facility is in the best interests of the child. Section 10 of the Bill, as initiated, states: in so far as is practicable, that care and treatment shall be provided— (i) in an age-appropriate environment [we...

Mental Health Bill 2024: Committee Stage (11 Jun 2025)

Mary Butler: I move amendment No. 31: In page 21, line 1, to delete “the age of 16 years” and substitute “16 years of age”.

Mental Health Bill 2024: Committee Stage (11 Jun 2025)

Mary Butler: I move amendment No. 29: On page 18, line 34, to delete “10 years” and substitute “5 years”. Section 75 of the Mental Health Act 2001 provided for a review of the operation of the Act to take place five years after the full commencement of that Act. The initial review began in 2011 and eventually led to the formation of an expert group review of the Act....

Mental Health Bill 2024: Committee Stage (11 Jun 2025)

Mary Butler: I move amendment No. 30: In page 20, to delete lines 34 to 38 and substitute the following: “(i) is aged 16 years or older— (I) it shall be presumed that the child has the necessary maturity and capacity to make decisions affecting himself or herself in relation to his or her admission, care and treatment under this Act, and (II) the views and the will and preferences...

Mental Health Bill 2024: Committee Stage (11 Jun 2025)

Mary Butler: The Bill proposes to allow 16- and 17-year-olds to consent to or refuse admission to approved centres and to consent to or refuse treatment. The Bill presumes that all 16- and 17-year-olds have the capacity to make decisions about themselves. Where a child has capacity, his or her consent is required for admission and treatment. That is really important. However, if the child lacks...