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

I am in agreement with my colleagues. I want to know what alternative locations or other place is envisaged under this amendment for a child who has been involuntarily admitted. There is a bit of a concern. If it is, for example, a hospital for their physical health, they may not be in a position to return immediately to the approved centre because their order has expired. In cases where a child has been transferred to another place, the child will be in an approved centre despite being involuntarily detained, meaning that the Mental Health Commission would not be regulating the actual physical environment they are being held in. I want to know what oversight or monitoring of these places will be in place, given the safeguards that apply in approved centres. What input will be sought from parents or guardians in such cases? That is really important. How will the child's views be considered?

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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