Amendments Nos. 129, 132, 136 and 138 are all smaller amendments. Amendments Nos. 131 and 139 are being inserted to provide clarity to the Government's existing policy. This policy is that capacity assessments should be carried out and completed in a timely fashion. There should never be a situation where a single capacity assessment is ongoing for weeks at a time. Amendment No. 139 inserts a new section 50(3) that requires that capacity assessments be completed within 72 hours of the initiation of any treatment. I…

I will update the House. I spoke at length on Tuesday in relation to patient advocacy services, which I have previously rolled out across all 480 nursing homes throughout the country. I will meet with patient advocacy services. We are already putting in place patient advocacy services for mental health facilities. I was to have an update from them in quarter 1 of this year; I will meet them on Wednesday next for that update. I will update the House in relation to that. It is moving ahead at speed.

I am speaking to amendments Nos. 140 to 148, inclusive. Amendments Nos. 143, 145 and 147 are Government amendments. At the outset, I would like to provide some context to this provision and the Government amendments arising from it. As Senators may be aware, the Bill provides for an overhauled approach to consent to treatment and assessment of capacity. That is the biggest part of the Bill we have discussed the whole way through. The Bill provides for the formal assessment of capacity and for two assessments to tak…

Can I double-check that the Opposition amendments are Nos. 141, 143 and 144 and that the Government amendment is No. 142?

I just wanted to double-check. I do not want to be back here again.

In respect of amendments Nos. 149 and 150, which are similar, I cannot accept them for the simple fact that the Bill already provides for exactly what they seek to introduce. I will instead speak to amendments Nos. 298, 369 and 384. When I came to this decision on Committee Stage in the Dáil, I found out when I looked for information that no young person had had ECT in Ireland in the last ten years. Not one. I am open to correction but I was told at the time that there was no CAMHS consultant in the country who was…

Yes.

As the Senator was late coming in, it is important to put on the record of the House the fact that in the past ten years, no child or young person in this country under the age of 18 was administered ECT. It does not happen, but I just felt it was really important to cement that in the Bill. The Senator mentioned the PNA. I am into my sixth year as Minister of State with responsibility for mental health. It is really unusual in the Houses of the Oireachtas for someone to be in the same role for that amount of time.…

With 24-7 support.

I cannot support amendment No. 151. It is unnecessary because section 57 already states that a restrictive practice cannot be applied except in accordance with that section and regulations made under section 58. This amendment is exactly the same amendment that was proposed by Sinn Féin in the Dáil. I opposed it in the Dáil and my position has not changed. I cannot support amendment No. 152 because this was discussed with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel, OPC, following this proposal on Committee Stage in th…

I will speak generally about sections 59 and 60. Section 59 provides for the interpretation for Part 4 containing the definitions to be used solely in that Part. Section 60 provides for the application of the Child Care Act 1991 in certain circumstances, particularly in relation to children who are the subject of care orders under the 1991 Act. These amendments to section 60 build comprehensively on the text of the original Bill, inserting significantly more detail to ensure that the two enactments are appropriatel…

Will the Senator say it again?

I can respond.

This is short. Regardless of what type of a care order a child is under, if a child requires mental health care, either as an inpatient or an outpatient, the clinicians treating the child do not care what kind of an order the child is in or under. All they want to do is treat the child and look after the child. There will not be a differential in the type of treatment they get. The question the Senator is actually raising is in relation to who do they report back to and whether it is Tusla or the parents.

That is the piece I set out. We will circulate the particular answer that I have just given for everyone because it was quite complicated and I was trying to take it all in myself. All I can say is, that for any clinician treating any person, whether it is a child, a young person or an adolescent the same applies. The treatment will be the same. They will treat the child, they will treat the symptoms and they will look after the young person. They do not care where the child came from, whether they are with their p…

I spoke in relation to Tusla sometimes being seen as the parent of the child. It will be set out in the Child Care Act 1991. There has been engagement between the Department of children, the Office of the Attorney General, the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel and my officials behind me. This is why it has taken so long to get us here. As the Minister of State with responsibility for mental health I can categorically say that any treating clinician does not care where the child has come from. The child will be lo…

Dr. Amir Niazi is the chief clinical officer for CAMHS. He is a very good friend of mine by now. I actually call him my right hand because he is always at the end of the phone for any support or advice that I need. He is a very wise man. He was before the Oireachtas committee yesterday speaking about the very tough situation for anyone who finds themselves with an eating disorder. Dr. Niazi spoke about bed capacity in relation to CAMHS. I get the figures for bed capacity every week without fail. We have 52 beds for…

They are in a room on their own but it is in an approved centre in a department of psychiatry. I just want to clarify this in case anyone is worried. Although we are changing the age limit of when a young person can make a decision in relation to their own consent, that will not apply to the inpatient beds for 16- and 17-year-olds. That will not be changed over to adults so that they would be classed as an adult. You are entitled to consent to your own treatment at 16 and 17 but in relation to the inpatients, it wi…

It also states more than that.

That is a selective sentence.