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

I support these amendments. It is very important that psychologists are included on the list of healthcare professionals. It is also really important that the wider psychosocial care team is recognised. It is important to recognise the need for psychosocial care and not just simple healthcare. Mental health cannot be understood or addressed solely through a medical lens. While that is obviously very important, it is not the complete picture. Many of the challenges that people face are deeply rooted in a wide range of social, emotional and environmental factors including, as my colleague has said, trauma, poverty, housing insecurity and social exclusion.
Why are psychologists not listed under the definition of "mental healthcare professional" when other professions are specifically named? The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has constantly noted the need to consider the psychosocial elements of mental health difficulties. With that in mind, why would there be a refusal to include a reference to the wider psychosocial care team, such as peer advocates?

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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