Mental Health Bill 2024: Committee Stage (Resumed)
Seanad Éireann — 2025-12-09
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Victor Boyhan (IND), Agricultural Panel

This group of amendments are effectively all the Minister of State's amendments. We do not have to go through them because I will explain as I go along. Group 5 is amendments Nos. 10, 26, 46, 53, 54, 56, 69 to 73, inclusive, 78 to 83, inclusive, and 85 to 88, inclusive. These are fairly minor amendments and there is a recurring theme within the grouping. I thank the Minister of State and her officials for sending on some details this afternoon in line with what we had asked for. I have not had time to study them because they came late, but I thank the Minister her for them and I have got the grasp of them.
A common theme for me throughout all of this legislation is the issue of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, UNCRC. We had some discussion about the definition of a "child". Clearly, there is an issue of medical consent for 16-year-olds and 17-year-olds where they have capacity.. Then we have the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, UNCRPD. The Minister of State will be very familiar with her own explanatory memorandum to this Bill and these two primary conventions that Ireland is a signatory to. Let us keep this all very simple. I am seeking reassurances about this legislation and particularly this group of amendments. We will talk as we go through the legislation, but it will be my recurring theme in this because it is really important. I have had representations on this from individuals and advocacy groups. I welcome all the people here today and the people who are tuned in to these proceedings. We have to always be concerned that with any legislation there are no negative consequences from anything we might enact.
The Minister of State will be familiar with the UNCRC. The various articles clearly set the definition of "child", non-discrimination and so on. Article 7 states: "States Parties shall take all necessary measures to ensure the full enjoyment by children with disabilities of all human rights and fundamental freedoms on an equal basis with other children." This is referred to in the explanatory memorandum to this Bill. Clearly, the parliamentary counsel who drafted this legislation have examined this in some detail. They are certainly conscious of it because it is echoed in the explanatory memorandum. Will the Minister of State give assurances in relation to this group of amendments that she has every confidence and she has been advised professionally and legally that they will be fully compatible with these two important conventions, to which Ireland is a signatory? We cannot be at odds with these two important conventions. I am interested to hear the Minister of State's thoughts on this and to have her assurances on the points I outlined.

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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