Mental Health Bill 2024: Committee Stage (Resumed)
Dail Éireann — 2025-06-18
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Sorca Clarke (SF), Longford-Westmeath

I am unsure if this is a genuine error. Under amendment 140, section 47(3)(a) references "A responsible consultant psychiatrist may extend an initial treatment period". However, under section 2 on interpretations, the area that deals with discharge under section 41, refusal of treatment under section 50, where the Bill proceeds to speak about children - section 91 under care plans - and sections 180, 181 and 197, it also references multidisciplinary teams. I wonder why it is not included here, also. Is there a reason for the presence of a multidisciplinary team? The Bill talks about it being there at the assessment for the psychosocial assessment, it talks about it for an adult and for a child, but when it comes to this section - extending the initial treatment period - it is not included. When it comes to the review, it is likewise not included. There is a gap. Why would it be referenced at the beginning, and when a person is being discharged, but why not have it in the centre when a review is being carried out?

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2025-06-18/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:53:56+00:00
Sitting date: 2025-06-18