Anne Rabbitte (Fianna Fail)

I will fully support the Mental Health Bill 2024 as it proceeds through the Seanad. This legislation represents a significant and long-awaited step forward for mental health in Ireland. In addition to acknowledging the content of the Bill itself, I acknowledge the leadership and dedication of the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, under whose guidance this work has progressed with care, compassion and clarity of purpose. Since she published this Bill back in July 2024, she and her Department have been engaging in serious, thoughtful work and have been consulting widely, listening deeply and responding constructively to a diverse range of stakeholders.

The Mental Health Act 2001, while progressive for its time, is now nearly a quarter of a century old. It no longer fully reflects the values or practices that underpin modern mental health care, particularly the shift to the community-based services, a recovery orientated model of care and the vital role of service users’ partners in their own treatment. The Minister of State’s approach has been one of insistence on listening. The public consultation initiated by her in 2021, at a time when the country was still grappling with the effects of Covid, gave people with lived experience, their families and the front-line professionals the opportunity to shape the future of mental health law in this country. This consultation, along with the comprehensive work of the 2015 expert review group and more recent engagement with the Mental Health Commission, the HSE, the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland and many others, has resulted in a Bill that informs the inclusive rights-based approach. I look forward to working with the Minister of State as the Bill progresses through its various Stages.