Mary Henry (Independent)

The Minister should not shake his head. On Second Stage, he informed the House that this Bill was for the ordinary, common sense, normal people one finds in the Four Courts and not psychiatrists. However, the courts rely on psychiatrists to give a medical opinion in cases. To ask them to give an opinion in a situation which they believe is crazy — forgive the use of the term — is not good. It may be all right in legalistic terms, but these professions have ethical responsibilities to the people in front of them in a courtroom, which they must consider first and foremost. The Minister does not have to include every last line of section 3 of the Mental Health Act to say that one has a mental disorder. If parts of it apply to an individual, that will be sufficient. If an individual is suffering from hallucinations, one does not have to say he has delusions aswell.

The Bill asks professional people to go before the courts to use vague forms of wording and definitions that they do not believe are suitable. I object to the term "mental handicap" being used because it went out with buttoned boots. The definition is pitched too low. The Minister claims people wanted it pitched high enough and that is why the word "insanity" is used. Its use does not mean it is high enough. This is an old-fashioned word although I do not mind if people giggle about it in 40 years time. However, modern psychiatric terminology should be used in a Bill concerning mentally ill people. Psychiatrists coming before the courts to give professional opinions in cases must believe they are doing so within the parameters of psychiatric disease.