Mary Seery Kearney (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Last night, BBC's "Panorama" programme aired details of horrific cases in hospitals in the greater Manchester area of patients with mental ill health being humiliated, abused and isolated for weeks. It was an National Health Service, NHS, foundation. People were being held under the UK Mental Health Act and were all individuals classified as being at serious risk of harming themselves or others. The experiences shown in that programme were of patients being sworn at, taunted, mocked, restrained unnecessarily, slapped and pinched. Patients were locked into seclusion rooms for days, weeks and months. One woman described herself as being treated like an animal.

I am raising a matter relating to Manchester because yesterday the Mental Health Commission issued a press release stating that from 1 January next, restraints will not be used on children in services in Ireland. As part of a report it released, however, the use of seclusion and restraints in 67 inpatient mental health centres in Ireland in 2021 found that 645 people were secluded last year, with 6% of them being prevented from leaving their rooms for periods of greater than 72 hours. One individual's episodes of exclusion ranged from three minutes to - wait for it - 8,759 hours over a year. A method of restraint was used in 25% of instances. There was physical restraint; staff members would stop a patient from moving freely, which was used 75% of the time.

The "Panorama" programme was broadcast last night, but we had our own report yesterday that went under the radar and did not get any focus. I ask that we focus on mental health because at present the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Bill is working its way through the House. Under that Bill, patients with mental ill health have been ring-fenced as people for whom an advance healthcare directive will not apply. If they, in full capacity and in full health, put that document together and have it ready for a point when they perhaps will not have capacity and would not be in full health, that document can be suspended, if they are people who are at serious risk of harming themselves or others.

We are legislating at present to reduce the voice, and render powerless and without agency, people in mental ill health, while the Mental Health Commission is issuing a report and we see visuals on television about what is happening. We would be foolish to think it is not happening here. The reasons we are not being more nuanced with this legislation is the Mental Health Act 2001 is under review. That needs to be accelerated. We cannot have any delay on that. I am looking to make sure we have a debate because in advance of yesterday's Committee Stage debate on the assisted decision-making Bill in this House, I received a number of phone calls and listened to people. It was frightening. I lay awake most of last night thinking that this is happening in our State. It is absolutely frightening.