Maire Devine (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I support the Bill. Medical staff, in my own experience, know that a hazy area exists and I hope that this Bill will clear that haze. There are many good points in the Bill. I will not go into the amendments in detail but I welcome a Bill that will replace the existing principle of best interest under the Mental Health Act 2001 with the guiding principles of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015, which respects the will and preferences of the individual. I am also happy to see the retention of the principle of best interest in decisions made under the Act about the admission and treatment of children and young people under the age of 18. This principle should take account of the views of the child or adolescent as well as their will and preference. I welcome too the fact that the Bill will introduce the other human rights principles of the right to the highest attainable standard of mental health and the right to the least restrictive care. The Irish Government has already signed up to these human rights standards. I wish the Bill a speedy passage through these Houses.

I do, however, have a sharp word of warning. In light of the budget announced yesterday, propped up and supported by Fianna Fáil, none of this will happen. There is a severe lack of vision, courage and political will in Government - and I include Fianna Fáil in that term - for the much-needed revolutionising of mental health. A Fianna Fáil representative on RTÉ yesterday asked us to look at the confidence and supply agreement so as to see if they had delivered on this budget. This agreement states that the Vision for Change strategy must be fully implemented. Sadly, the term "aversion to change" would be more apt.