Mary Butler

I will touch on what Deputy Quinlivan said about CAST. I acknowledge the Deputy has been very supportive of this from the start. I went to Limerick last October to launch it during Mental Health Week. We often use the word "game-changer" in the Dáil but this is one of the ones that has really made a significant difference. I visited Limerick a couple of weeks ago to meet some of the CAMHS teams th…

I will make a couple of points about what was raised. To be clear, as regards the amendment that was proposed, sections 2 and 3 of this amendment are already in this section of the Bill. That part of it is already in place. My understanding is that sections 2 and 3 will be agreed. The Mental Health Bill extends the ability of anyone detained under the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act such t…

A significant amount of consultation and research went into drafting the criteria for involuntary admission that are set out in the Bill as initiated. People can perhaps give consent in the morning but then withdraw it in the afternoon. That does not mean they still do not need mental health supports from the multidisciplinary team in the department of psychiatry or the approved centre. It is a sm…

The amendment does not speak to what the Deputy just spoke about. He is talking about somebody who has not been involuntarily detained and someone else believes that person should be, such as a family member. That is not what this amendment is about. I am speaking about somebody who is involuntarily detained and may not have had consent when being involuntarily detained but whose status then chang…

-----believes that person should be involuntarily detained. There is a whole section in the Bill with the criteria for involuntary detention. I know the Deputy is talking about people who are very ill and, with the best of intentions, may need to be involuntarily detained. That will always come down to the detention criteria.

The Deputy quoted from a document I have not had a chance to look at. The purpose of this Bill is to support people who are mentally unwell but also to make sure their human rights are respected. This Bill will speak to that. If the Deputy wants to send me a copy of what he quoted from, I can take a look and come back to him with a response.

The threshold has not been lowered; it has been strengthened.

I move amendment No. 43: In page 23, lines 36 and 37, to delete “recommendation for involuntary admission for the person, the subject of the request,” and substitute “recommendation for the person the subject of the request”.

I move amendment No. 44: In page 24, between lines 7 and 8, to insert the following: “(d) is a spouse of the person, the subject of the application, who is living separately and apart from the person concerned or a spouse in respect of whom— (i) an application for an order has been made but not yet determined under the Act of 2018, or (ii) an order has been made under the Act of 2018, or”.

I move amendment No. 45: In page 24, lines 8 and 9, to delete “(c). , or” and substitute “(c).”.

I move amendment No. 46: In page 24, to delete line 10.

I move amendment No. 49: In page 26, between lines 7 and 8, to insert the following: “(14) In subsection (1), “spouse”, in relation to a person, does not include a spouse who is living separately and apart from the person, or a spouse in respect of whom— (a) an application for an order has been made but not yet determined under the Act of 2018, or (b) an order has been made under the Act of 20…

I move amendment No. 51: In page 26, between lines 23 and 24, to insert the following: “(d) is a spouse of the person, the subject of the application, who is living separately and apart from the person concerned or a spouse in respect of whom— (i) an application for an order has been made but not yet determined under the Act of 2018, or (ii) an order has been made under the Act of 2018,”.

I move amendment No. 53: In page 26, to delete lines 39 and 40 and substitute the following: “(5) A direct application for a recommendation for involuntary admission shall be made in the form and manner specified by the Commission.”. This amendment provides for a new subsection (5) to ensure that direct applications are made in a form specified by the Mental Health Commission.

I move amendment No. 54: In page 26, to delete line 41, and in page 27, to delete lines 1 to 3 and substitute the following: “(6) In this section and section 18, “relevant person” means a person who— (a) is a spouse of the person, the subject of the application, but does not include a spouse who is living separately and apart from the person or in respect of whom— (i) an application for an ord…

I move amendment No. 56: In page 27, line 13, to delete “view” and substitute “opinion”. These are technical amendments to replace the word “view” with “opinion” at various points throughout the Bill.

I move amendment No. 61: In page 29, line 9, before “take” to insert “take all reasonable measures necessary to”. Following publication of the Bill last July, officials in my Department continued to consult key stakeholders. Invaluable feedback was provided by An Garda Síochána and the Department of Justice regarding the provisions on Garda powers in the Bill. An Garda Síochána examined the Bil…

Agreed.

I thank the Deputies for their appropriate questions. In 2023, 16% of applications were made by authorised officers and 32% by gardaí. That is to put it into context. The Department and the HSE recognise that for the authorised officer system to work effectively, officers must be available nationwide on a 24-7 basis. I am in 100% and total agreement. The expectation is not that an authorised offic…

I agree wholeheartedly. As I said, 174 is the most recent figure I received. In order for this important aspect of the Bill to work, we need sufficient authorised officers. It is hard to judge how many will be needed. Authorised officers made 16% of applications in 2023, while gardaí made 32%. This means that one sixth of applications were made by authorised officers. I agree that we cannot take a…

The Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 did not come into place until 2023. We are looking at 2028. We have to be realistic. There are certain facets of it we want to see being implemented very quickly. There will be a formal implementation plan for the Act. It will set out timelines, the resources needed, etc. I am keen that we would start straight away. I have already written to the Men…

I cannot answer that question specifically. Authorised officers are paid a kind of overtime for work additional to their regular work. I anticipate that many authorised officers will do this in addition to their day jobs. Many of these requests are made out of hours and at weekends.

I am not understanding the question. What I am saying is that the estimate for the cost to get to the number we need is an additional €3.5 million. I imagine that would relate to those who are working part time. I can get more details and reply to the Deputy next week or on Report Stage.

That is the cost of the additional authorised officers.

I do not know. I will dig into that for the Deputy.