Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I would like to welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Jim Daly. I raise the need for the Minister to make a statement on the need for legislation governing the long-term detention of people in psychiatric institutions given the recent decision of the Court of Appeal.

I supplied the Minister and the office with material that I will go through very briefly, although I am sure the Minister is up to speed on this issue. Mr. Justice Gerard Hogan found that section 15(3) of the Mental Health Act 2001 was unconstitutional because it allowed for involuntary patients to have their detention extended for up to 12 months without an effective procedure to have their detention independently reviewed within a reasonable time. This is very serious and it was covered by the national media in the last few weeks.

What is more important, and I had a look at the various briefing papers on it this morning, is that Mr. Justice Hogan went on to say that there needs to be an immediate and imperative response from the Oireachtas and the Government to bring in fresh legislation. That is the position. The judge talked about and recommended legislative change, which we should undertake. It is an important finding by the judge in terms of long-term detention of people, particularly people with mental illness and other issues. We need to provide care for people that is appropriate to their needs, having regard to their case history and their decisions and to why they are being detained in the first place and the independent validation of that.

This learned judge has raised a very genuine issue of concern. He has identified that the Oireachtas needs to do something in terms of legislation. I know these things do not happen overnight but I would like to hear what the Government's intention is in this regard?