Mental Health Bill 2024: Committee Stage (Resumed)
Seanad Éireann — 2026-01-28
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Frances Black (IND), Industrial and Commercial Panel

I have tabled amendment No. 187. I totally understand that this has already been discussed quite a bit so I do not want to spend a huge amount of time on it. I know this is something the Minister of State feels extremely strongly about. That said, while I can see where she is coming from and I acknowledge the personal story she told recently, I also want to put this on the record. I hope she can see where I am coming from and my concerns at this point. As I have said before, I fully acknowledge and applaud the Trojan work the Minister of State and the Department have done to significantly decrease the number of children admitted to adult units in recent years. I know it is not an easy thing to do. It is something that I am sure has made a real difference to many young people. As I said before, I have concerns about the fact that these figures could possibly rise again if someone else who comes into the Minister of State's role does not have the same compassion and understanding that she has and might possibly not monitor the figures as closely as she does. I know she said no clinician wants a child to be placed in an adult unit. I am sure she is right about that, but the reality is that the numbers were high when the Minister of State first came into the role. I am concerned that they may become significantly higher again in future if there is no real legislation protecting against this practice.
The Minister of State noted her concerns about a 72-hour window, in the sense that it could make the practice more commonplace. Again, I totally understand where she is coming from. Ideally, this practice should be completely prohibited. That said, my amendment is trying to allow for the very rare and exceptional emergency situations the Minister of State referenced when placing a child in an adult unit is the only immediate option, for example where there is an urgent risk to the child's life or safety and no child-appropriate bed is available. In such cases, it is essential that the law, at a minimum, include strict limits and clear procedures to ensure that these placements are truly a last resort. In these cases I believe there is no justification for a child to ever remain in an adult unit for more than 72 hours, which is three full days. During that time there must be a clear and active obligation on the relevant services to find a suitable age-appropriate placement. It would be so powerful if we could put something like this in the legislation to protect future generations of children. I will leave it on that point because I recognise that, in fairness, the Minister of State has spoken a lot about this. I just wanted to put how I feel on the record.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-01-28/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:33+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-28