Mental Health Bill 2024: From the Seanad
Dail Éireann — 2026-04-29
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Liam Quaide (SD), Cork East

I wish to speak to amendment No. 93 in relation to advocacy. It is obviously positive that information about advocacy is shared with the person who is involuntarily detained, but being told advocacy exists is not remotely the same as having a statutory right to independent advocacy. It is regrettable that despite a very strong focus on this from some of the interest groups such as Mental Health Reform in each stage of the Bill, that has not been provided for. A person who is involuntarily detained may be very fearful, highly distressed, over-sedated, isolated from family and dealing with teams and professionals using clinical and legal language. Many people in that situation will find it overwhelming. In that context, independent advocacy should be a basic safeguard. A nominated person is not a substitute for an independent, professional advocate. A nominated person may be a family member or friend, they may be supportive but may not have the training, confidence or independence to challenge clinical decisions or help a person navigate a rights-based process.
The definition of advocacy should have been stronger. Advocacy should not be reduced to helping someone express their will and preferences, it should support a person to exercise those preferences, vindicate their rights and participate meaningfully in decisions affecting them. Without guaranteed independent advocacy, many people will be left alone at the precise moment the State is exercising the greatest power over them. Related to that, the independent complaints mechanism was also ruled out of order earlier. It is important to say what has transpired at Bloomfield Hospital in Dublin and in Kerry CAMHS underlines the importance both of independent advocacy and independent complaints. It is fair to say that “Your service, your say” is a dysfunctional complaints mechanism. We cannot ask a vulnerable person, particularly someone who was involuntarily detained, to complain directly to the same system that controls his or her care, medication, leave and discharge. We see a huge amount of disquiet and discontent among service users with regard to “Your service, your say”. That is important to put on the record.

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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