Mental Health Bill 2024: Committee Stage (Resumed)
Seanad Éireann — 2025-12-17
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Victor Boyhan (IND), Agricultural Panel

I thank the Cathaoirleach for clarifying that. It is rarely used and rarely asked for but that clarity and the Cathaoirleach reading that into the record is something we should exercise more often because these records stand. I accept that these are the Standing Orders we have all signed up to. We can amend our Standing Orders, of course, though it would be very difficult, given the huge majority on the other side of the House. However, I operate within the rules. That is a rule as well. Now it is on the record.
That brings me to discussion of section 10. I will touch on the issues in relation to the amendment I tabled. It has been ruled out of order so I will talk about it in broad brush strokes. The key concern is that under no circumstances should a child be placed in an adult unit for longer than 72 hours. Following this emergency 72-hour timeframe, that care and treatment must be provided. That is my concern and the concern of many professional advocates who engage with the Minister. That is really important. The kernel of it is the children in our State, whom we have an obligation to protect under a special provision in our Constitution. There are issues about the welfare of a child and where the child is placed, whether that is in care or in family circumstances. There are many different circumstances and many of these people whom I call children, in this category of 16- and 17-year-olds, are on our streets in Dublin. They slept out last night. They have mental health issues. They have a complexity of issues. It is about ambition. After all, this is going to be the Minister of State's new Bill that she has initiated and driven through. Hopefully, it will be successful. I have no doubt it will be passed by both Houses. I appreciate the engagement of the Minister of State and her staff with us on each section of it. The really important aspect of this is that these are 16- and 17-year-olds, sometimes even younger. If we talk to any international UN advocacy groups or human rights groups, there are major concerns on this. It is about ambition. We need to put targets in place. We need to say categorically that no child will be incarcerated at any stage. That is challenging and there are difficulties but that has to be our collective ambition.
I am looking forward to the new year when I will engage with the Ombudsman's office and a number of advocacy groups. I indicated last week that that is what I intend to do. I have reached out to some of them already. We will have other opportunities through this legislation to talk about it. The Minister of State talks about challenges and putting kids at risk. I do not want anyone to be at risk. However, it has to be the collective ambition across government that no child would be in care in an adult unit.
I am not in a position to share this information yet but I will be in the new year. I have tried to quantify the number of children in certain mental health establishments and their age profile in the past 12 months. I am hearing different reports from people who provide the services on the ground. It would not be responsible or right for me to bandy around figures until I have hard facts. I am happy to share them here with the Seanad. More than likely, this amendment would never have been accepted anyway. I am glad to have the opportunity to flag my general concern and that of many people outside of this House who are watching these proceedings. My concern is the issue of vulnerable people who are children, although they have special status in terms of being 16 or 17 years of age in relation to medical aspects. There is that deep concern and I share that concern.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2025-12-17/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:28+00:00
Sitting date: 2025-12-17