I thank Deputy Kelly for the opportunity to address the House on the discussion around the need for a new model 4 hospital in the mid-west region. I also thank him for his ongoing advocacy in relation to University Hospital Limerick. I have stood across the floor from him many times over the past five and half years discussing health matters, and he has been very consistent. I want to put that on the record. In May 2024, HIQA was requested to conduct a review of urgent and emergency care in the mid-west region, wit…

I thank the Senator for the manner in which he has raised this important issue and for complimenting the supports that are available. They are good supports when people have access to them. The Government is committed to addressing immediate difficulties that patients are experiencing in accessing oral healthcare services, as well as fundamentally reforming dental services through the implementation of the national oral health policy, Smile agus Sláinte. The policy sets out the vision for the future of oral healthc…

I thank the Deputy for that. The Minister will update her Cabinet colleagues before Christmas on her considered response. I acknowledge the fact the Deputy appreciates there is work going on to increase capacity and additional funding has been provided. UHL's budget has increased from €265 million in 2019 to €507 million in 2024. I will also touch on the two rapid build 16-bed units opened in December 2024 and June 2025, respectively, and the 96-bed block that was opened in October 2025, which the Deputy spoke abou…

I thank both Senators for their contributions. We will certainly take a look at Senator Ruane's suggestion in relation to that. I will be back in the new year with this Stage and Report Stage. I will ask my officials to look at it. I cannot give the Senator an answer here and now, but we can certainly look at that . I am hoping that the CORU piece in relation to psychologists will be resolved very soon. It may not need that statutory instrument at all if the time works out in relation to it. I also agree with what …

Amendments Nos. 23, 354 to 359, inclusive, and 361 to 366, inclusive, have been grouped together. Amendment No. 23 updates the definition of nominated person to clarify that a nominated person must be an adult, which is a person 18 years or older. The rest of the amendments in this grouping change the word "nominee" to "nominated person". This has been done to ensure consistency in language across the Bill. The role of a nominated person is to support the person throughout the admission and to be someone whom the a…

Amendments Nos. 36,193, 200, 204, 208,209, 213 to 216, inclusive, 219, 220, 223 to 227, inclusive, 230, 232, 239, 257, 283, 285, 287 and 289 have been grouped together. These amendments relate to the Family Courts Act 2024 and will align court proceedings for children in a mental health context with court proceedings for children in a child protection and a family law context. In short, where a child is subject to court proceedings under this Bill, such as where a child is to be involuntarily admitted, those procee…

I have met with the Children's Rights Alliance. It was a couple of months ago, but I certainly met with it. The alliance did not raise any specific issues in relation to this aspect of the Bill. Because the Family Courts Act 2024 is new, I imagine that the alliance would have engaged with the Minister for justice at the time. These are family-friendly courts. When a child is being involuntarily detained under a care order, the Family Court is the right place for the child and the family to be. To answer the Senator…

As Senators may be aware, it is already mandatory for Ireland to comply with both UN conventions. Ireland signed the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities optional protocol in 2024. That protocol establishes a complaints mechanism whereby individuals or groups of individuals who claim to be the victim of a violation of the convention by a state party, may refer a communication to the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Under the optional protocol, a state party recognises the compe…

I have not met IHREC representatives, but my officials have. I met the Ombudsman for Children recently to discuss the Bill. We went through concerns that he had. I will try to explain where we are coming from on the amendment. While the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has been ratified, it has not yet been incorporated into domestic law. Similarly, the UNCRC has not been incorporated into domestic law. Neither convention has been adopted directly into Irish law under any childcare, disabili…

For everyone.

I will come to Senator Boyhan first. In response to his discussions on the conventions, co-ordination of the conventions is the responsibility of the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality. Any review of whether the conventions should be reflected in primary legislation must be led by that Department. That is something we know for a fact. The Senator spelled out that it is not incorporated into domestic law. That is quite stark. It is something of which people may not have been aware. Every effort has been …

To follow on from what the Senator said, in relation to capacity, we currently have 52 beds open. I secured the funding for 30 whole-time equivalents to reopen ten beds in Cherry Orchard next year. They were closed two and a half or three years ago because we were not able to provide safe staffing numbers. In budget 2026, I secured 300 whole-time equivalents and of those, 30 will be provided to reopen the beds in the Cherry Orchard area. I have asked the Mental Health Commission to review the existing code of pract…

I thank the Senators again. In order to clarify, nowhere in the Bill talks about a young person being admitted to an adult ward. Nowhere in the Bill does it state a young person cannot be admitted to an adult ward. What I said earlier is that in the majority of cases I am aware of, the stay is up to a maximum of 48 hours. This is not written down anywhere. I have asked the Mental Health Commission to review the existing code of practice on such admissions in relation to the timeframe also. It would be very helpful …

It is not opposed.

I move: Tuesday's business shall be: - Motion re Excess Vote relating to 2024 [Vote 14] (without debate) - Arbitration (Amendment) Bill 2025 (Second Stage) (to conclude within 3 hours and 34 minutes) Tuesday's private members' business shall be the Motion re Assessment of Needs, selected by Sinn Féin. Wednesday's business shall be: - Statements on Online Safety (not to exceed 2 hours and 25 minutes) - Motion re Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann for a Council Decision to sign the Third Additional Protocol to the Eur…

I thank the Ceann Comhairle and all the Whips for raising these important issues. We will take the opportunity on Thursday at the Business Committee meeting to discuss them further. The Order of Business stands.

Amendments Nos. 10, 26, 46, 53 to 55, inclusive, 69 to 73, inclusive, and 78 to 88, inclusive, have been grouped together. These amendments relate generally to the involuntary admission process. Many of these amendments are small in nature. For example, amendment No. 10 inserts the term "for involuntary admission" after the words "recommendation" in line 3 of page 16. Similarly, amendment No. 46 provides for the deletion of a definition in section 11 and amendment No. 26 provides for the insertion of the same defin…

There is a clear basis for retaining 21 days as the upper limit for the holding of review board hearings. People who are involuntarily admitted tend to see their condition begin to improve between two to three weeks, as this is how long it takes for medication to take proper effect. Giving people an opportunity to improve their condition within the initial period will help them participate more fully in the process. It normally starts at 14 days, up to 21 days. It is something that I have looked at in depth and we …

I thank the Senator. I compliment her on all the work she does in relation to mental health. We worked closely together in the previous Dáil and Seanad when she chaired the Sub-Committee on Mental Health. I did write at the time to support her when she was trying to keep that committee up and running. I thank her for all the work she does. To move back to the point of the current Bill, the 2001 Act allows for 21 days. This is something I have discussed at length with both advocacy groups and the College of Psychiat…

Not before 14 days, no.