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

This matter relates to the right to special advocates, particularly for 16- and 17-year-olds who are children. There are various terms regarding consent in respect of medical issues, which the Minister of State has already explained and which I and everyone else here knows. The Minister of State indicated that advocacy is a central plank of the reforms in the Bill, and there is this particular group. The Ombudsman for Children and other agencies have strongly advocated that every person accessing mental health services should have the right to access independent advocates to support them.
I said to the Minister of State last week that there are many people on our streets who are children. They have complex needs. They have many and diverse needs. They have little or no support. Whose interests best prevail? Is it those of the HSE and the people entrusted to care for these children or who are meant to be entrusted to care for them, is it the psychiatric services or is it their guardians? What is the weighting of these rights? The Minister of State understands what I am getting at. How can we ensure that this cohort of exceptionally vulnerable people is protected and has independent advocacy that puts them at the heart of the decision-making process?

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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