Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

In regard to the work being undertaken by the Department of Health on the reform of the Mental Health Act 2001, heads of Bill were published earlier this year. My understanding is they have gone or are going through the pre-legislative scrutiny process with the committee. Once that pre-legislative scrutiny process is over, the outcome will influence the final draft that will be brought to Cabinet. The process is advanced and we are awaiting the final draft of the legislation to come to Cabinet. I can seek a little more clarity from the Minister for Health before Report Stage when I will be able to give more clarity. It is a matter within the remit of the Department of Health but, as I stated, the heads of Bill have been done and a pre-legislative scrutiny process has taken place.

In regard to the questions from Senators Hoey and Seery Kearney, under the 2001 Act where a person's treatment is involuntary, it is regulated by Part 4, which is divided into two subsections. The first is where there is deemed to be an immediate and serious likelihood of the person harming himself or herself or another person. The second is where, in the opinion of the relevant clinicians, treatment is required to improve a condition or a condition would deteriorate without treatment. Under the existing legislation, both of those circumstances allow for involuntary detention under Part 4. As the Bill originally stood, in both of those circumstances an AHD would not apply. The amendment I am bringing forward today will allow an AHD to apply in the second of those circumstances, where, in the opinion of the relevant clinician, treatment is required to improve a condition or a condition would deteriorate without treatment. Where a person is detained under this subsection in Part 4, the exclusion contained in the original 2015 Act on the applicability of AHDs will no longer apply.However, it will still apply under the first subsection. We have engaged extensively on this with both the Office of the Attorney General and the Department of Health. We are not able to broaden the application of AHDs further in the Bill than the broadening I am bringing forward today in the context of these and other amendments. We absolutely see the importance of AHDs and of legislating for the situations about which Senator Seery Kearney and others have spoken. However, part of that requires changes to, and a much broader revision of, the 2001 Act. That is within the remit of the Department of Health and will require a systematic review and revision of that legislation. We have advanced the situation by broadening the application of AHDs and narrowing the exception that is provided for in the Act. There is a strong recognition within the Department of Health that it needs to take up its part of the work now in respect of the revision of the 2001 legislation. That process has begun by way of the heads of Bill that were approved by the Cabinet earlier this summer.