Mental Health Bill 2024: Committee Stage (Resumed)
Seanad Éireann — 2025-12-09
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Patricia Stephenson (SD), Labour Panel

I am still not clear on some issues. The Minister of State said that she is not a clinician but I am sure she has spoken with plenty of clinicians in reviewing the Bill. When it comes to the difference between 14 and 21 days I recognise what she said about the case-by-case basis, but maybe she could elaborate on that. I was not really clear on the justification for not having a limit of 14 days versus 21 days or for the case to be 15, 16 or 17 days. It would be helpful for me to understand the rationale behind that. As outlined by the other Senators, there are human rights concerns around this, which we have heard about Maybe we need a bit of clarity around that. I do, in terms of understanding the rationale because it seems a bit arbitrary.

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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