Dan Boyle (Green Party)

I will explain my opposition to section 1. The Bill was originally envisaged as dealing with two involuntary procedures in the area of mental health, one of which is known as psycho-surgery or, more popularly, lobotomy. This practice has not been carried out in Ireland for several decades and to give more focus to the Bill its sponsors have decided to concentrate on the aspects dealing with electroconvulsive therapy. For this reason, we argue that section 1 is no longer required and our debate should be concentrated on the remainder of the Bill.