Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Mental Health Review Board is a quasi-judicial body responsible for the review of the detention of patients in the Central Mental Hospital. Currently, Schedule 1(1) of the Criminal Law (Insanity) Act 2006 outlines the requirements of the membership of the board. There must be a chairperson and such number of ordinary members as determined by the Minister in consultation with the Minister for Health. As it stands, the chairperson must have ten years’ experience as a practising barrister or solicitor or be a judge or former judge. Should the chairperson be incapacitated or unavailable, there is currently no means to provide for a substitute. This presents a risk, given the strict time limits available for such reviews.

The amendment will establish a deputy chairperson role on the board with the same qualification requirements as the chair and will require the deputy chair to act as chair where the chair is not present. This will ensure that the reviews that are due to take place will still be able to do so even if the chairperson is unavailable. Should it arise that both the chair and the deputy chair are unavailable, the Minister may appoint a suitably qualified individual to act on a temporary basis. An amendment to this effect to Schedule 1 of the Act has been introduced already.