Mental Health Bill 2024: Committee Stage (Resumed)
Seanad Éireann — 2026-01-20
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Victor Boyhan (IND), Agricultural Panel

I will follow on from what Senator Black said because it ties in with that. I too received a number of letters. I am loath to read out letters from people in the House because it can be sensitive stuff. Again, it is about the feeling that there are advocates. Patients are vulnerable and in a care situation. As the Minister of State described, the people may be unwell and on medication. There are peer pressures around the individual coming into mental health services.
In respect of having a right to independent advocates, I spoke to management of two private psychiatric hospitals who told me that they do not have a difficulty with the independent advocacy service. Rather, it gives them comfort too.
While I always thought people had sort of an interest in "Oireachtas Report" at 11 p.m., the number of people who listened to the debate and talked about the lived experience shocked me. During the previous debate on this Bill, we discussed the lived experience. There is then the professional experience. The lived experience is very important, as is the professional experience. People contacted me who felt very hurt. They felt that, in some way, that is all they had. They might not have been very articulate about their experience but they had this lived experience, which is very important and valuable to them. I have always found that to be valuable. When people come into a confined, safe space, they feel safe and talk about their concerns, you can see they are deeply moved because they have lived this experience of isolation and loneliness.
There are so many other strands to mental health and that sense of isolation. The people you thought you could trust, you expected to trust or to be there suddenly fall away. This independent advocate service is critical.
This Bill in its entirety will be the Minister of State's legacy. This is perhaps the single most important piece of legacy, this work and putting in place an independent advocate, as well as of course, listening to the people on the ground working in the services. I cannot thank them enough. I spoke to many people in recent weeks, who take measures and go way beyond the call of duty in offering additional supports, occupational services and linking into families. They go way beyond what they are paid to do and way beyond their remit. There is huge commitment and good will on the ground, but independent advocates give comfort and safety to all stakeholders, including the patients. It is paramount. This is potentially the key to giving confidence to people who work in the service, the families and service users. I encourage the Minister of State to give it her fullest consideration.

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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