I fully understand. I thank the Minister of State. I suppose this is one of the kernels of the legislation and in some ways would indicate one of the central problems of it. To put it into context, I will say a few things about advocacy. Today I want to wish the Psychiatric Nurses Association of Ireland well in its conference.

As we speak, the association is having a conference in Cavan on CAMHS. Today many people will have heard the interview on "Morning Ireland". While this point is not teed up for this per se , I just wanted to put it in the context of advocacy. They asked if the Minister would consider a pause on the proposal to close the ten-bed child and adult mental health service at St. Vincent's in Fairview. This leads me to the issue of advocacy for CAMHS. I looked at the Government Information Service, GIS, and the Government …

I thank the Minister of State for explaining that and for the lesson on transitional provisions-----

That should not be done when a Senator has the floor.

I will restart. I thank the Minister of State very much for setting out the transitional provisions. I take her word for it. She has confirmed that it is time-bound. That is a really important point. She also talked about the Mental Health Commission and its role and oversight in terms of governance. Of course, that is always really important. We will have another opportunity to talk about the Mental Health Commission later. I am satisfied with the Minister of State's reassurance from a personal point of view. I th…

Yes.

At the outset, because there was a lot of work done in the past few days, I particularly thank the Bills Office. I only learned yesterday - every day is a learning day - that it is the task of the Bills Office to do these listings and it is completely separate from the Minister's office. There is no influence whatsoever between the two departments and that gives us confidence. I did not doubt that, but it is nice to learn that because I thought it was the Seanad Office that was making these decisions. I learnt some…

I move amendment No. 31: In page 23, after line 33, to insert the following: "(9) This Act shall be compliant with the United Nations Convention on Rights of the Child (UNCRC).".

This is where it gets trickier. The Minister of State will be aware that I have spent a lot of time on this. There are two separate amendments, Nos. 31 and 32, but I will combine my comments on them. Amendment No. 31 seeks to ensure that "This Act shall be compliant with the United Nations Convention on Rights of the Child (UNCRC)", which the Minister of State will be aware of. Amendment No. 32, which seeks to review the operations of this legislation, seeks to ensure that "This Act shall be compliant with the Unit…

While I do not have difficulty with some of the sentiment of what the Minister of State said, I have to take issue, respectfully, with her. There is nothing vague about these two amendments. First, they are in plain, simple English. Second, it is not up to me, I am not the Minister of State and do not have the bank of officials behind me to tie up the legislative, legal or parliamentary language. It was very clear what these two amendments say, and they say simply that: "This Act shall be compliant with the United …

I move amendment No. 32: In page 23, after line 33, to insert the following: “(9) This Act shall be compliant with the United Nations Convention Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).”.

A different reason was given on this occasion because it was suggested it was a challenge to the Exchequer. I ask the Acting Chairperson to read the letter issued by the Cathaoirleach's office for the record of the House.

The Acting Chairperson has been provided with a note. I have chaired the Seanad myself and notes are provided for the Cathaoirleach to read into the record when requested. I ask the Acting Chairperson in both cases-----

Sorry, I am not finished. I have the floor. With all respect, I ask the Acting Chairperson to read into the record of the House the letter with regard to amendments Nos. 34 and 36.

I thank the Acting Chairperson.

I second the amendment.

I stand in support of what Senators Cosgrove and Stephenson have said. The rationale, the logic and the case they have made are strong and they have my full support.

I move amendment No. 41: In page 28, between lines 27 and 28, to insert the following: “ Report on right to independent advocacy 13. Within nine months of the passing of this Act the Minister shall lay before the Houses of the Oireachtas a report outlining how a right to independent advocacy can be guaranteed to all patients and their caregivers.”.

I move amendment No. 43: In page 29, between lines 20 and 21, to insert the following: “ Capacity assessment and safeguards for treatment without consent 14. (1) A person cannot be given treatment without their consent unless a formal capacity assessment has been carried out and they have been found to lack capacity to consent to that specific treatment, in line with the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015. (2) An exception to subsection (1) will only apply in emergency circumstances where such treatment i…

I want to keep the process going because we owe it to all of us that we all have an opportunity. It is self-explanatory. I am happy if the Minister of State wants to respond or add something but that is up to her.