Mental Health Bill 2024: Committee Stage (Resumed)
Seanad Éireann — 2025-12-09
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Frances Black (IND), Industrial and Commercial Panel

I want to pay tribute to the Minister of State. I know how much work she has put into this, and I know also that this is an area about which she is extremely passionate. I am very aware of all of the work she has put into new services over the last few years that she has been Minister of State. I just want to say that at the top.
I am here to speak about amendment No. 84, which seeks to reduce the maximum time for a mental health review board hearing to take place after a person has been involuntarily committed from 21 days to 14 days. My amendment is trying to address my deep concerns about how human rights standards are maintained during the course of a person's involuntary admission.
The expert review group of the Mental Health Act examined the issue in depth and concluded that a maximum timeframe of 14 days for review hearings is more appropriate and more consistent with human rights standards, and its recommendations included several important considerations. First, international human rights norms, including those underpinning the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, make it clear that delays in reviewing detention are inconsistent with rights-based practice, and shortening the maximum timeframe would offer better protections to those seeking care and ensure that their rights are not inhibited by unnecessary delays. Ideally, this could happen alongside the development of more robust community-based alternatives.
Additionally, it is concerning that the existing statutory provision, which allows up to a seven-day extension beyond the 21-day limit, means that in practice, a person may have to wait 28 days before his or her involuntary admission is reviewed considering the demand and stresses our mental health care facilities are under. This outcome is something that could become the norm for those being involuntarily admitted. Incorporating the expert review group's recommendation of a 14-day maximum would bring the Bill into closer alignment with best practice and ensure that the legislation reflects Ireland's commitment to a rights-based, person-centred approach to mental health care.

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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