Mental Health Bill 2024: Committee Stage (Resumed)
Seanad Éireann — 2026-01-20
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Mary Butler (FF), Waterford

If people cannot be admitted involuntarily due to an immediate serious risk of harm to others - we will come back to this; they are at risk of harming themselves and, potentially, others - there is a strong possibility they will end up in the criminal justice system. By ensuring that there is a treatment pathway, which the Senator spoke about, for this small group of people, they can be diverted from the criminal justice system. They can be given the chance to have their disorders treated and the risk of harm they pose will be minimised or eliminated entirely when their condition improves. Conditions do improve. As I say all the time, recovery is possible in the context of mental health. For that reason, I cannot support this or any similar amendment in this grouping because I would worry about the unintended consequences, that someone with a mental disorder who may need to be admitted involuntarily because of posing an immediate and serious risk of harm to another person would be excluded from a mental health facility, an approved centre or department of psychiatry.
I ask Senators to think about what they are saying. Someone is at risk of harming another person and for that reason cannot be admitted. Where will they go? Will they go out on the streets? They have a mental disorder and Senators do not want them to be admitted because they pose a risk to someone else. It is okay that they are a risk to themselves. If they pose a risk to another person, however, it must be remembered that any of us could be that person. It is very small group of people - a tiny subset. I do not want anyone to be triggered by this, but I do not want any unintended consequence of people being refused admission to an approved centre when they need support, because of being a risk to someone else.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-01-20/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:31+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-20