Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate my Fianna Fáil colleagues and the Deputy who has joined us on their work on this very important Bill. Sinn Féin is supporting the Fianna Fáil amendments. Our amendment is an amendment to section 15 of the principal Act. It seeks to resolve an issue raised by a recent Court of Appeal ruling in the case of AB v. St. Loman’s Hospital. The court ruled that allowing the extension of involuntary detention in a mental health facility by 12 months after a prior extension of six months was a violation of the rights of the patient. The 12-month period was deemed too long to be ordered without a review. The 2015 expert review of the Mental Health Act 2001, which was supported by the coalition Mental Health Reform, identified this issue and called for a reduction. The expert review called for a maximum of nine months, but there is real concern that this would also not be constitutionally acceptable. Patients deserve to have a right to review and to appeal their detention. To say that a patient must be detained for 12 months without review is akin to an admission of defeat, especially when we are seeking to move to a community-based model in line with the A Vision for Change policy. While some patients will need acute and even extended hospital care, this must be done with great care for the rights of the patient and always with a view to discharge and continued care and recovery in an outpatient setting. I call on and urge all Members to support this amendment.