Mary Henry (Independent)

Amendments Nos. 12, 15, 16 and 18 are extraordinarily important to the working of the Bill. When the people to whom we are referring run into trouble, quite often it does not relate to minor crimes or anything like that and they do not need inpatient treatment. If the original proposal had been pursued, it would really have clogged up the system. I am delighted that these amendments were made by the Dáil. I am pleased that the Minister of State has said that the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform will consult the Minister for Health and Children. It is important that there is as much coalescing as possible to ensure that people are treated in an efficient and humane manner, rather than the manner in which they were treated in the past. These amendments will make a very big difference to the working of the Bill, which is the area I keep looking at. When people contact me to ask how we will work this legislation and how we will deal with it, I tell them that these provisions will make a very big difference.