John Halligan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Devine. I certainly do not think she is naive.

On behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Jim Daly, who is abroad this week on Government business, I thank the Senator for asking this very important question. As she will know, the expert group review of the 2001 Mental Health Act was completed in 2015. The group’s final report had 165 recommendations, most of which relate to changes to the 2001 Act. Shortly after publication, the then Government gave approval to prepare the heads of an amending mental health Bill to reflect the group’s recommendations.

Among the many changes to be made are the proposed expansion of the existing authorised officer service to play a more prominent role in examining alternatives to inpatient treatment as well as initiating applications for involuntary admission, the review of the detention of patients after 14 days rather than 21 days and also, as the Senator will be aware, allowing 16 and 17 year olds the right to consent to or refuse mental health treatment.

I can now inform the House that a draft of these heads has been finalised by the Department of Health and were passed on to the Mental Health Commission last week. The Minister of State, Deputy Daly, wishes to stress the importance he attaches to allowing the commission, and this is reasonable, which has an in-depth knowledge of the inner workings of the Act, to contribute to the detail of the Bill.

The Minister of State, Deputy Daly, is on record in the Oireachtas and elsewhere stating that while it is a matter of regret to him that it has taken time to bring these heads to draft stage, nonetheless, this work had to be balanced with the many other calls on the Department of Health to progress not only emergency and Private Members-related legislation but also other mental health strategies and agendas relating to services.

Work on the Bill by the Department has been front-loaded and the commission has effectively been provided with text that is far more detailed than heads alone and represents what the Bill itself would look like. We believe this should ultimately reduce the time required to finalise the actual text, once Government approve the heads of the Bill.

Some have asked if the current draft will be published and whether there will be an opportunity to comment on its contents. The fact is that this is an unfinished and effectively internal draft currently subject to comment from the experts who understand the detailed operation of how the 2001 Act operates. Following consultation with the commission, and when the heads are finalised and approved by Government, they will then be published.

Before the expert group began to discuss the revision of the 2001 Act, there was a full public consultation on the changes that should be made. Some 116 submissions were received at that time and the changes proposed fed into the workings of the expert group.

In addition, as the Bill proceeds through the legislative process, Oireachtas Members and all key stakeholders will have an opportunity to provide further input. I hope that reply allays some of the Senator's fears.