John Halligan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I again thank the Senator for allowing me to update the House on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Daly. In sending the draft heads to the Mental Health Commission, we have reached a position that Oireachtas Members wanted us to reach - if the Senator recalls, that is what was being asked of us. Oireachtas Members have been requesting this for some time. We are obliged to await the views of the commission on the detailed drafts provided to it. The Minister of State, Deputy Daly, has asked me to reassure the House that he fully understands the importance of having the legislation in place before the expert group begins to discuss the revision of the 2001 Act. As I said, there was a full public consultation and a sizeable number of submissions, some 116, where received at the time. The changes proposed were fed into the working group. In addition, as the Bill proceeds through the legislative process, Oireachtas Members and all key stakeholders, including the Senator, will have an opportunity to provide further inputs. We have made a lot of progress in recent months and we are close to being where the Senator would like us to be.