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

Before we conclude, I thank everyone who supported the Bill. They have supported human rights and a person-centred Bill that will help thousands of people each year on their recovery journey. Their voices will be heard. I am very proud to conclude this Bill here in the Seanad.
I thank all Senators for their engagement over the past 24 hours. This is generational legislation and in order that those who voted in favour of the Bill know what they have done, they have voted for the regulation of CAMHS, the regulation of community residences where people with enduring mental health conditions live and for a reduction in restrictive practices. They have voted to ban electroconvulsive therapies for under-18s. They have voted that ECT treatment will only be provided to people with their consent. They have also voted that young people aged 16 can make decisions about their own mental health, like physical health, going forward. I thank each and every Member for being so broad-minded. I point out to all those people across the floor who voted against the regulation of CAMHS, community residences and restrictive practices that this is what they have done.
I wholeheartedly thank James Kelly and Lorraine Doyle, who are sitting behind me, who have worked on this Bill for many years. I thank Siobhán Hargis, my principal officer, and Professor Philip Dodd, assistant chief medical officer, for his help. I thank the Bills Office, the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel, the Attorney General's office and officials in the Departments of children and justice because this was a collaborative approach. I also thank my two advisers, Ian and Páraic, for all their support. I thank all, especially Teresa, so much for sitting through 24 hours of debate here in the Seanad. She did not miss a minute of it. I thank her so much, and everyone else who was here as well.

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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