Mental Health Bill 2024: Report and Final Stages
Seanad Éireann — 2026-04-16
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Aubrey McCarthy (IND), University of Dublin

As the Minister of State knows, I have spoken many times in this House about the mental health system and also about the gaps where people are falling through. One area of concern I mentioned before is dual diagnosis and people coming from an addictive background when they present. I recently gave the case of a young guy from Limerick who arrived at a rehabilitation centre to get detoxed and was unfortunately hearing voices. He showed signs of mental health issues. He was then referred to accident and emergency services but because he had substances in his blood, those services said it was a drug issue rather than a mental health issue. The dual diagnosis piece is a huge gap. I am very happy to support my colleague, Senator Boyhan, in these amendments, which basically want to raise stronger safeguards. The review in amendment No. 41 is very prevalent for that.
I have also spoken in the House about the particular case of Andrew McGinley and his family. He was the co-parent who was not informed of his partner's issues, even though they were disclosed to a professional during her treatment. Unfortunately, we know that co-parent, Andrew McGinley, lost his three children and that the story of Conor, Darragh and Carla, who were tragically taken from him in circumstances which shook the nation, could have been prevented. Mr. McGinley has shown extraordinary courage and has channelled his grief into advocacy and is looking for reforms and answers. He has requested a meeting with the Minister of State. He has also called for sections of this Bill to be amended. I acknowledge there are a lot of amendments before the Minister of State today, but I suspect that the issues he has mentioned are not going to be addressed. I also acknowledge what the Minister of State has mentioned before, which is that medical confidentiality is a complex issue so trying to reform the law in that is very difficult. I fully understand that. It would require a separate Bill, but I appeal to the Minister of State to take account of the issues related to confidentiality in a future report. I do not think anybody in this Chamber wants to see what Andrew McGinley has gone through happen to other families.
I put a focus on the dual diagnosis piece, which is a separate piece that is a huge chunk of work. If we can join the dots there, it would be a game-changer.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-04-16/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:49+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-04-16