Mental Health Bill 2024: Committee Stage (Resumed)
Seanad Éireann — 2026-01-22
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Mary Butler (FF), Waterford

I thank the Senator. As we know, consent to treatment is a very complex matter involving different aspects of medical and legal ethics, as well as crossing both mental health legislation and capacity legislation.
By its very nature, depriving people of their liberty is an infringement of their human rights. As such, it should only be done as a last resort where it is absolutely necessary for the recovery of the person. Where a person is deprived of his or her liberty, we must ensure there are adequate safeguards in place for that person, such that the detention will be reviewed regularly, as is set out in the Bill, that he or she has access to legal representation, that he or she has a right of appeal, that his or her human rights are protected insofar as is possible and that the treatment administered is proportionate and for the purposes of benefiting the person. I believe the Bill contains these necessary safeguards. I actually believe it should be less than seven days and not even once a week because consent can change depending on how a person is managing his or her recovery and illness at that time. At the same time, I do not want to be too prescriptive. I do not want to over-reach and dictate to the consultants and multidisciplinary teams working on the ground. If it is okay with the Senator, I propose to take this away, engage with her and come back with something on Report Stage that might be agreeable to us all.

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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