Frances Fitzgerald (Fine Gael)

The changes being made in this Bill are being made on foot of the High Court case. The Bill does not set out in statutory form the qualifications required by personnel in this area. I do not wish to cast any aspersions on the people currently carrying out this work but there have been many scandals in the UK and elsewhere arising out of the privatisation of parts of the health service, particularly when issues such as standards have not been addressed. This problem has also arisen in respect of patients in other countries with mental health difficulties. There is huge scope for poor quality service and for potential abuse.