Ivana Bacik (Independent)

All of us would be concerned about legislation of this import that must be rushed through. I understand the reasons this is so but we all share the concern that there could be unforeseen deficiencies in the legislation, and the issues which have been raised are important, especially that concern the purported retrospective effect. The effect of this is difficult to predict.

I have a specific question on section 3. Will the weekly review of patients, which is currently the practice where somebody is detained, continue given it is now more likely there will effectively be a fixed date on which orders expire? The current practice is a weekly review, given that orders are effectively indeterminate. I want to ensure patients are not being disadvantaged by this provision.