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

I pay tribute to Dr. Fiona Morrissey. She really engaged when we were doing pre-legislative scrutiny on the Bill. Fiona Walsh is here also. I pay huge tribute to her.
This came up when we were doing pre-legislative scrutiny of the Bill a few years ago. We heard that people with lived experience find the term "mental disorder" deeply stigmatising. I will quote from a recent briefing in the audiovisual room. This was one of the lived experiences:
Words carry immense influence, and the labels we use can have serious consequences. Being described as having a mental disorder immediately suggests to me that there is something fundamentally flawed within my mind. Throughout my experiences, hearing repeatedly that I was suffering from a mental disorder or "a chemical imbalance" left me confused and distressed. The language felt belittling, discouraging, and deeply damaging to my sense of self.
This is so belittling. It is almost taking somebody's rights away from them. People who have had lived experience do not want this term. It would be great if the Minister of State would consider that going forward.

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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