Mental Health Bill 2024: From the Seanad
Dail Éireann — 2026-04-29
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Sorca Clarke (SF), Longford-Westmeath

In regard to the transition from one framework to another, I will go back to this legislation being people orientated and rights orientated. I have a concern, not so much about the 28 days but about the reassessment of any individual who is there. Given the pressures that exist in the mental health services, as they stand today, I ask the Minister of State to keep a very close eye on what is going on there and to engage with both the staff and professionals in the services but also those who speak on behalf of patients. We do not want to have somebody fall through the cracks because we are saying 28 days is the transition period. I ask the Minister of State to ensure the legal rights of individuals, whether they are voluntarily or involuntarily an inpatient at the moment, are central, protected and that those legal rights really stand up to scrutiny as we are moving from one to the other.

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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