Mental Health Bill 2024: Committee Stage (Resumed)
Seanad Éireann — 2026-01-20
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Frances Black (IND), Industrial and Commercial Panel

I wish to start by commending the Minister of State and her team on the phenomenal work they have done on this legislation. I am very aware she is passionate about this particular issue and that needs to be said. I am also very aware of the work the Minister of State did on older persons around advocacy. My own colleague, Colette Kelleher, if the Minister of State remembers, was here at the time and worked very closely with her on that and she did phenomenal work on it.
I acknowledge the Minister of State has stated we have her word and I really appreciate that also.
For me, I would love to see it in the legislation for a number of reasons. It is in primary legislation in England, Wales, Scotland and the Netherlands. They have all introduced a statutory right to independent mental health advocacy. The concern I have around a nominated person is that a nominated person is someone who is personally chosen - it is often a family member or a friend - to receive information, while an independent advocate is a trained professional whose role is to support a person to understand their rights and make sure their views are heard. They should complement rather than replace each other.
A nominated person's access can be limited as well and we have to take that on board. The Bill would restrict nominated persons to people admitted to acute units, for example, would exclude voluntary patients and assumes everyone is a suitable person to nominate. That is the biggest challenge as it is often not the case. Independent advocacy is essential for rights protection also. Informal supporters may lack the confidence or expertise to challenge decisions, whereas independent advocates are trained to do so.
A rights-based system requires guaranteed access to independent advocacy for all, including children, as recommended by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. I know the Minister of State agrees with all of that, in a way. She agrees with all of that. It would be great if she would even be open to having a conversation around having it in the legislation. I just want to get my head around it. Will that delay the legislation? Is that something the Minister of State is concerned about? What is it that would stop her from really looking at this? I think it would be powerful to have advocacy in the legislation. It is being done in Scotland and other countries. I just wanted to get the Minister of State's thoughts on that.

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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