Mental Health Bill 2024: From the Seanad
Dail Éireann — 2026-04-29
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Mary Butler (FF), Waterford

I am pleased to be here this afternoon for the final Stage of the Mental Health Bill 2024. Following more than 40 hours of debate in both Houses, I am very proud of the final version of the Bill being brought before the Dail today. Following extensive Committee Stage debate in this Chamber and in the Seanad, we have made a number of improvements to the Bill that I think all Deputies will welcome. We have introduced new sections to regulate pharmacological restraint, which was a priority for many Members. We have introduced additional safeguards in relation to consent to treatment for adults. We have made changes to the criteria for involuntary treatment and treatment without consent. We have included a statutory right to information on advocacy supports. We have aligned the Bill with the Criminal Law (Insanity) Act, the Child Care Act and the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act. Finally, we have provided for transitional provisions to allow for the smooth transition from the current Act to the new one.
Amendments Nos. 1, 457 and 465 to 471, inclusive, to the Family Courts Act will amend the definition of family law proceedings to include court proceedings under the Mental Health Bill 2024 that relate to children. This will ensure that all the protections that are built into the Family Courts Act for children will be extended to children subject to court proceedings under this Act.
The amendment to the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 will allow a registered proprietor of an inpatient mental health service to make an application directly to the Circuit Court under Part 10 of the 2015 Act, where a person has been assessed as lacking capacity under the Mental Health Bill 2024.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-04-29/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-21T01:01:08+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-04-29