Mary Henry (Independent)

The health service appears to be on people's minds again. When the Mental Health Act 2001 was brought through the Houses of the Oireachtas, it was stated that it was urgently needed to replace the 1945 Act. However, we are still operating under the 1945 Act despite the establishment of the Mental Health Commission because of an impasse between psychiatrists and the Minister for Health and Children over the working of the mental health tribunals.

Psychiatrists maintain that the funding is insufficient to put the tribunals in place. These tribunals have yet to be set up, a situation that is causing great distress to patients and their families. Could the Leader ask the Minister to urgently address this issue? I hope all Senators will support my call because a considerable amount of time and effort was put into the Act by Senators for a small amount of funding. Only 7% of the health budget is spent on mental health services, which includes the upkeep of buildings. We could probably set up these tribunals for a small amount of money. However, their establishment would mean a great deal to very large number of very ill people.