Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 1:

In page 5, line 7, after "2009;" to insert "to amend the Mental Health Act 2001;".

This amendment concerns the addition of the Mental Health Act 2001 to the Long Title of the Bill to take account of amendment No. 9, which amends section 48 of the 2001 Act. It is a relatively minor amendment to change the length of time a person can serve on a mental health tribunal operated by the Mental Health Commission from the current term of three years to five years.

The commission wrote to my Department requesting that this amendment be made in an existing Bill, if possible, as it will shortly begin a recruitment campaign for the appointment of tribunal panel members. Each recruitment campaign costs in the region of €250,000 and is administratively burdensome for the commission. The amendment was originally proposed to be included in the forthcoming mental health Bill. However, the size and complexity of that Bill mean it would not be possible to enact and commence the relevant provisions prior to the commission's recruitment process. Work is intended to commence on the mental health Bill in the coming months. For very practical reasons, I propose to make this legislative change now in order that the extended term can be incorporated into the forthcoming recruitment process. This will have a direct impact by delivering savings for the Exchequer and reducing the administrative burden on the commission.

I am happy to confirm to Deputies that the mental health Bill, which is expected to be more than 200 pages long, is in the very final days of drafting. I will seek approval from the Government to publish it later this month.

As I have outlined, amendment No. 1 proposes to amend the Long Title of the Bill to reflect the proposed amendment to the Mental Health Act 2001 contained in amendment No. 9. I hope Deputies will support it.

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