Mental Health Bill 2024: Committee Stage (Resumed)
Seanad Éireann — 2026-01-22
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Nessa Cosgrove (LAB), Labour Panel

I move amendment No. 110:
In page 62, between lines 28 and 29, to insert the following:
“(5) Notwithstanding the generality of subsection (1) , the administration of treatment to a person shall be regularly reviewed, and in any event, shall be reviewed at least once every 7 days, by the responsible consultant psychiatrist and the capacity of the person concerned shall be regularly reviewed by the responsible consultant psychiatrist or, on his or her direction, by another mental healthcare professional and in any event no longer than every 7 days.”.
This amendment would require a review of treatments to involuntarily detained persons every seven days. The Government amendments requiring regular capacity assessments are very welcome. It is important to recognise that decision-making capacity is fluid though and that it can change rapidly, especially in the context of mental health treatment, as the Minister of State knows. For this reason, it is essential that formal capacity assessments related to specific treatment decisions occur more frequently than every two weeks. We would like to see them happening every seven days at least. This would better reflect the dynamic nature of capacity and ensure that individuals are not subjected to treatment decisions based on outdated assessments and ultimately it would support a more person-centred approach to this care. This is essential to ensure that individuals' wills and preferences are actively sought and respected throughout the course of the care. We just think that 14 days is too long.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-01-22/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:32+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-22