Mary Henry (Independent)

As no one will take any notice of what I say I wonder why I bother. The mental health tribunals will have the advantage that the people comprising them, who would be much the same type of person as those on the Minister's review board, will get some experience as they deal with ordinary cases. When they come to criminal cases they can have as much advice and as many lawyers as they like, but I would like something already established to be used because those involved will have some experience. I hope there will not be people appealing to the review boards too often.

This is a practical initiative and my intention is not to be difficult. I wish the matter could have been examined more seriously. On Committee Stage, the Minister, Deputy McDowell, indicated he did not think much of the idea although a few people thought it was well worthwhile. I know it would involve extra work for the mental health commission but psychiatrists deal with the same kind of people.

The people who will be seen before the review boards will be serious cases. We have had people who committed murder come before the ad hoc review board. They were in the Central Mental Hospital or another mental institution and were deemed fit to be released. Then they committed another murder and there was more trouble. In England recently someone who murdered two people was brought back to a high-security designated centre and managed to murder another person inside the institution. We are dealing with serious issues and dangerous people. If we place more legal emphasis on the mental health tribunal review boards, they at least would have some experience of assessing cases, whereas we are going to have boards set up de novo for these cases. This is disappointing.