Last-minute government amendments have resulted in a Mental Health Bill that now lacks crucial human rights safeguards in favour of a retrograde model of service provision for people with acute mental health difficulties, according to Social Democrats TD Liam Quaide.<\/p>\n
Deputy Quaide, who is the party\u2019s spokesperson on mental health and disability, said:<\/p>\n
\u201cSome government amendments, introduced on deadline day for submissions, have significantly altered the tenor of the Bill and have not given interest groups, including service-users, sufficient time for consultation and engagement.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnder one such amendment, the period for which a person admitted to an acute mental health service may be treated involuntarily has doubled from 21 days to 42 days, subject to a review by a second consultant psychiatrist. This raises significant concerns for prolonged non-consensual interventions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Minister also rejected opposition amendments to provide for a right to an independent advocate or an independent complaints\u00a0mechanism, and the Bill does not include a stringent review of instances of involuntary treatment. These practices contravene the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, which affirms the right to physical and mental integrity.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnother new amendment means that the criteria for involuntary treatment have been significantly expanded.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn addition, there is no safeguarding against the practice of admitting under 18s to adult psychiatric wards. While recognising that this practice has reduced significantly, that does not mean the figures will remain low \u2013 it needs to be prohibited.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe government is essentially legislating to allow for its own continued under-resourcing of CAMHS inpatient beds and framing it as \u2018not wanting to tie the hands of psychiatrists\u2019 who may need to admit a teenager in crisis to an acute ward for their own safety.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Bill also reinforces the right of consultant psychiatrists to solely lead clinical teams and be eligible for the role of Inspector of Mental Health Services with the Mental Health Commission.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile earlier drafts of this legislation included a comprehensive section on chemical restraint, the Mental\u00a0Health Bill 2024 has entirely removed all references to this. This is a deeply troubling omission, as this practice does not exist under existing regulations or codes of practice and is therefore not\u00a0monitored in day-to-day clinical practice.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is vital that key retrograde changes to the Bill over its passage through the Oireachtas are reconsidered at report stage in the D\u00e1il next week, and that it regains its human rights focus.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe point of this legislation was to improve the human rights of people availing of our mental health services. The government must not, in its final stages of drafting, cast aside years of painstaking and important work by the Mental Health Bill Expert Review Group and the Mental Health Commission.\u201d<\/p>\n
July 2, 2025<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Last-minute government amendments have resulted in a Mental Health Bill that now lacks crucial human rights safeguards in favour of a retrograde model of service provision for people with acute mental health difficulties, according to Social Democrats TD Liam Quaide. Deputy Quaide, who is the party\u2019s spokesperson on mental health and disability, said: \u201cSome government […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[652,653,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12911","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-liam-quaide","category-mental-health","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n