Maire Devine (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I commend Deputy Browne and the Fianna Fáil Senators who are progressing this Bill through the House.I suppose this arose as a result of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015, where it has been three years but it has not been enacted. Nothing can happen in any shape or form. It is holding back not just mental health reform, but also other social policy areas. We want to kick it to touch and get this legislation enacted. I ask the Minister of State to give us some idea as to when that might happen because many other things depend on it.

I will outline some of the reasons for this Bill. Given that people are unable to make decisions, the decisions are made in their best interests. They are considered voluntary patients even though they have not given consent to being admitted voluntarily. From my experience, I am thinking about elderly people wandering aimlessly around psychiatric institutions, crying out, "Let me go home" and "Why is the door locked?". They do not understand what situation they are in but know that they do not want to be there. Surely that is an infringement of their human rights.

This proposed amendment to the Mental Health Act would strengthen that area and make us, as professionals, listen and take seriously what those people are saying. We may say it could be dementia, or confusion. It could be a toxic chemical that is running around the brain at that time, but it is a very distressing state for patients. We need to listen to their cries and take them seriously instead of prescribing more medication to keep them quiet.

I ask the Minister of State to outline when the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act will be enacted so that we can plough with reform that is people-centred and that takes into account people's wishes and needs.