Mental Health Bill 2024: Committee Stage (Resumed)
Seanad Éireann — 2025-12-09
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Mary Butler (FF), Waterford

Amendments Nos. 10, 26, 46, 53 to 55, inclusive, 69 to 73, inclusive, and 78 to 88, inclusive, have been grouped together. These amendments relate generally to the involuntary admission process. Many of these amendments are small in nature. For example, amendment No. 10 inserts the term "for involuntary admission" after the words "recommendation" in line 3 of page 16. Similarly, amendment No. 46 provides for the deletion of a definition in section 11 and amendment No. 26 provides for the insertion of the same definition in section 2.
I have continued to consider the matter of the appropriate length of time in which a review board hearing should take place. I moved an amendment previously to retain the limit of 21 days, but to allow the Minister to shorten this period to between 14 days and 21 days. I have included the amendment to revert this to simply stating "shorter than 21 days", but having considered the matter further I believe the wording as amended in the Dáil is appropriate and I will withdraw amendment No. 83. I am moving this amendment to revert to the original wording following feedback from different stakeholders. There may be some operational difficulties if the time limit for review board hearings is not set out in primary legislation, particularly in relation to compliance. It will be more straightforward to enforce compliance by services when the time limit is set out in black and white in primary legislation rather than in secondary legislation, which will not be reflected in the actual text of the Bill itself.
Based on data from tribunal hearings in 2024, a significant number of tribunals take place between days 15 to 19. In 2024, of the 1,734 tribunals that were held, 343 were held on day 20 and 139 on day 21. According to the 2024 statistics, 192 of the 1,734 tribunals in total were held on 14 days or prior. There was clear reasoning for permitting a review board hearing to take place between 14 days and 21 days, based on clinical presentation. In the majority of cases it takes two to three weeks after admission and the commencement of treatment before a person's condition improves. For a person to meaningfully engage with the review board or his or her legal representative, it would make sense to allow the person enough time for treatment to take effect, which is generally from day 14 onwards. In many cases a person may not be well enough to properly engage with his or her legal representation in a review board if the hearing is held in the days immediately after admission.
By investing the Minister with the powers to prescribe a shorter period, we can start to reduce the maximum period of time in which a review board hearing takes place. Twenty one days is the absolute upper limit of when a review board hearing can take place. This can be reduced over time by way of regulation.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2025-12-09/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:26+00:00
Sitting date: 2025-12-09