Mental Health Bill 2024: Committee Stage (Resumed)
Seanad Éireann — 2025-12-10
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Patricia Stephenson (SD), Labour Panel

I thank the Minister of State. I appreciate what she is saying in respect of the challenge around children in some very extreme circumstances being admitted to adult wards. I recognise that the Department met IHREC officials. However, we have heard from IHREC that when it comes to the question of beds on adult wards and statutory independent advocates for children, the Bill will not be in compliance with the UNCRC As it stands, the Bill will not be compliant which is from where a lot of our concerns stem.
While we have not transposed those two conventions into domestic legislation, following the advice of advocacy groups, including IHREC, we are potentially going to pass a Bill that will not bring us in line with those conventions. That feels perhaps the not right step to be taking. We should try to make sure that all of the legislation we develop is compliant, whether it includes Senator Boyhan's explicit reference to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The fact is we currently believe it to be non-compliant, which is a concern for us. We would then have to amend the legislation in the future.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2025-12-10/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:26+00:00
Sitting date: 2025-12-10