Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

Those in the first category will not have proceeded to trial because of their unfitness to plead. Those in the latter category will not have had the mental element necessary to commit a crime.

Persons covered by the new arrangements will have been sentenced in accordance with law for the commission of a crime, but will have developed some form of mental illness during the completion of their sentence or one will have become manifest in the course of the sentence.

This issue arose on Committee Stage and was prompted by Senator Henry's very useful amendment No. 128, which has been retabled for this debate as amendment No. 137. I merely wish to set out the background information for the Senator before we later discuss the substantive matter.