Child Protection
Seanad Éireann — 2026-02-19
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Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (FF), Carlow-Kilkenny

I thank the Senator for raising this important matter. Hello to Mr. McGinley. I am thinking of him at this time. It is not easy, but it is important that we raise this issue. As the Senator knows, I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Mary Butler, who cannot be here today. She sends her apologies.
I understand that clarification on the question was sought from the Senator and it has been confirmed that it is relates to medical confidentiality and clinical regulation in relation to a person’s mental healthcare. With regard to family involvement in a person’s healthcare, including mental healthcare, the Minister of State with responsibility for mental health, Deputy Mary Butler, is fully supportive of the involvement of family members in the care and treatment of an individual, where consent is granted. Health outcomes tend to be better when a person has a support network of family members around them. People should be encouraged to involve their family members throughout their treatment journeys.
Where there is a need to do so, procedures are in place to allow clinicians to breach patient confidentiality in limited circumstances. This is true of clinicians operating in all areas of healthcare, including mental health. Medical Council guidelines also allow for clinicians to breach patient confidentiality where the clinician believes the person or another person to be at risk of harm. While the prediction of risk is never easy, this pathway remains available to clinicians. The decision to breach confidentiality or not, and whom to inform, is a decision of the treating clinician. Any review of Medical Council guidelines must be led by the Medical Council and informed by clinical practice.
Patient confidentiality is a cornerstone of medical ethics, particularly when it comes to consent. Where consent is concerned, mental health treatment is treated no differently to any other health area. It is at the discretion of the individual as to what and how much information they allow a doctor or service to disclose to their family members.
Sharing the Vision, Ireland’s national mental health policy, underpins the support for family involvement and, indeed, the support of family and loved ones is explicitly mentioned in two of the four service delivery principles, and referenced throughout the policy. Sharing the Vision clearly states there is a role for family, carers and supporters in a person's care and treatment and addresses the need for access to advocacy and care in the community.
As the Senator is aware, the new Mental Health Bill will also support the involvement of family members and loved ones, with the consent of the individual concerned, by explicitly stating that people accessing inpatient services may nominate a family member or other person with whom they can consult throughout their treatment and whom they can nominate to receive certain information about their care and treatment. However, as stated earlier, a pathway is already available to clinicians to breach a person's confidentiality where they believe the person could be a risk of harm to themselves or others.
I will highlight the matter raised by the Senator to the Minister of State, Deputy Butler.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-02-19/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:39+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-19