Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I support Senator van Turnhout's comments. This mirrors a debate held on Committee Stage about advance health care directives being legally binding. I will not repeat all the comments but a strong argument was put forward and some of the organisations represented in the Visitors Gallery tonight are still calling for that. Senators have been contacted again by those groups in light of that debate on Committee Stage. I have been sent a copy of a petition from the Critical Voices Network of Ireland, a service user advocacy network, with 345 signatures and comments from health service users and other interested parties on the advance health care directive amendment. That is still on the table and the service users have not been assuaged by the comments made. They say the Minister of State is putting through the Bill to remove section 59 and 60 provisions where a person is unwilling to consent to ECT and medication under the Mental Health Act, so they see no clear reason this cannot be done for people who, under the Mental Health Act, are found incapable of consenting. The call is still there and I am making one last gasp attempt to get the Minister of State to take it on board. She has accommodated many other changes, which is appreciated. This one is ongoing.

I also support the call by Senator van Turnhout for open dialogue and other methods being advocated. Will the Minister of State give a commitment on that and say whether she will take it on board, even if it cannot be included in the Bill? Will she also say whether the Government will take the needs and wants of the service users into consideration?