Mental Health Bill 2024: Report and Final Stages
Seanad Éireann — 2026-04-16
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Mary Butler (FF), Waterford

There is no place in the Bill at the moment that legislates to allow a child into an adult unit. If I legislate for that, I am afraid it will make it the norm. It is not me. I am driving it from a policy level, but I have to thank all the clinicians, doctors, nurses and everybody who works in mental health and inpatient units. They are driving this. They do not want it either. I engage all the time with clinicians. I say every day of the week that I do not have a clinician's background, but I have lived experience. I am a mother and I had a child in the care of CAMHS for two years. We have to look at the reality of it. I just feel that if I write a provision up to 72 hours into it, it will mainstream it such that we are going to allow it up to 72 hours. I want to see a situation where that-----

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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