‘Landmark’ mental-health bill passes all stages
A bill aimed at modernising mental-health legislation has passed through both Houses of the Oireachtas and will now go to President Connolly for consideration.
The Mental Health Bill 2024, which the Department of Health described as “landmark” legislation, aims to improve the experience of people who are involuntarily admitted to an acute mental-health setting.
It provides new safeguards for people admitted and introduces a revised approach to consent to treatment, ensuring that people have more of a say in decisions about their treatment.
CAMHS regulation
The bill also regulates all community Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) for the first time.
It will allow 16- and 17-year-olds to consent to their mental-health treatment on the same basis as physical health.
The department said that almost 800 Government amendments to the bill during the legislative process were informed by consultation with key stakeholders.
‘Human-rights-based’ approach
Among the main amendments are:
- Changes to the consent-to-treatment provisions for adults to ensure that people have access to treatment where they lack decision-making capacity and do not have a relevant substitute decision-maker,
- Changes to the process of involuntary admission and treatment of children – including the prohibition of electro-convulsive therapy (ECT) to those under 18,
- The introduction of two new sections empowering the Mental Health Commission to regulate pharmacological restraint, and
- Additional safeguards on the criteria for involuntary admission and consent to treatment for adults and children.
Minister for Mental Health Mary Butler described the bill as a “once-in-a-generation” piece of legislation that would introduce “a more person-centred, human-rights-based approach” to mental-health services.
She added that she was “determined” to commence the legislation at the earliest opportunity after enactment and would seek to put the necessary resources in place as part of the annual estimates process for 2027.