John Moloney (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

For many obvious reasons, I thank Members of both Houses for their interest in ensuring the Bill's swift passage.

Sections 7 and 8 of the Bill amend the Criminal Law (Insanity) Act 2006 to provide that enforceable conditions can be included in the order of the Mental Health (Criminal Law) Review Board for the conditional discharge of a person detained in a designated centre under the 2006 Act. The Central Mental Hospital is the only designated centre under the Act. The new section 13B to be inserted in the 2006 Act by section 8 of the Bill provides for the return of a person to the Central Mental Hospital where he or she is in material breach of a conditional discharge order. It provides that, where a person is in material breach of a conditional discharge order, the clinical director of the designated centre must make arrangements to effect the person's return to the centre, including, where necessary, with the assistance of the Garda Síochána. The purpose of the amendments is to clarify the Garda's power of arrest under section 13B. This matter was raised during the debate by Senator Bacik, to whom I will respond. The amendments will ensure persons arrested under the section can be transferred by the Garda into the custody of the staff of the designated centre.

The main amendment in the group is amendment No. 1; the other amendments are technical drafting amendments. It is proposed that, under subsection (6), a garda may arrest without warrant a person whom he or she, with reasonable cause, suspects is unlawfully at large under section 13B. The new subsection (7) provides that the person must be transferred into the custody of an officer or a servant of the designated centre or an authorised person for the purposes of effecting the return of the person to the centre.

The amendments do not materially change the provision, but, on reflection and after listening to the debate in the Houses, it was deemed necessary to ensure section 13B clearly set out what should happen to a person arrested under the section.