Yesterday, I mentioned the White Paper on direct provision. This contribution follows on from that. Yesterday afternoon, I met with representatives of the Abolish Direct Provision Ireland campaign. I was unaware when I spoke yesterday that three men are currently hunger striking outside for the right to work. It is very sad symbolically where they are. When I went to figure out where the men were, to see about their health and what stage they are at on day 16 on just water, I found they have not had any health chec…

I want to draw attention very briefly to the protest outside today which is a very grassroots gathering of people who are in asylum. Often we see very NGO-organised advocacy and what strikes me about the people outside today is that they are all asylum seekers who are in various situations. A lot of them are very fearful about what their future holds. If they are facing deportation many of them are worried that they will be conscripted. Many of them do not want to fight in other people's wars because they may be on…

I set this speech against the backdrop of a quote that underpins a lot of the work I do, especially in the evolving area of AI. It is from a book I read a few years ago by Virginia Eubanks called Automating Inequality. It states, "When automated decision-making tools are not built to explicitly dismantle structural inequities, their speed and scale intensify them". We know that around the world artificial intelligence is already shaping people’s lives in warfare, public services, policing, welfare, education and on…

Often, when we have school tours in this House the Cathaoirleach will make a gesture by saying they should be given the day off homework. Last week, I received some communication from a student whose name is Brion Kellett. I invited him in today to listen to the Order of Business because I thought his email to me really captured why that should not just be a gesture and we should rethink homework. The contribution is via me but it is Brion's. Homework is given as if everybody is the same but kids all work at differ…

I have a few questions. Some parts of my contribution hang on not fully having an understanding of how this EU opt-in will intersect with the international co-operation office Bill, which is at the heads of Bill stage at the justice committee. Under that Bill, we will see a situation where a body is set up to facilitate the transfer to other jurisdictions when an investigation is happening of data that is owned and controlled within Ireland. I am not sure how this motion intersects with that proposed legislation an…

I spoke to these amendments already, but I will give a quick recap. The first amendment in that grouping relates to CORU. I completely accept the Minister of State's explanation and response on why psychologists are not named at the moment. I will withdraw the amendment, but between now and Report Stage, the Minister of State might consider putting it in the Bill. If a later commencement date was put on it, the Minister of State would not have to the return to the Bill to amend it. We have had later commencement da…

I move amendment No. 21: In page 17, between lines 12 and 13, to insert the following: “(d) a member of a person’s wider psychosocial care team;”.

I move amendment No. 22: In page 17, line 14, after “healthcare” to insert “and psychosocial care”.

I move amendment No. 33: In page 21, between lines 28 and 29, to insert the following: “(5) An applicable person shall not be precluded from accessing mental health care or treatment by virtue of the fact that they are acutely drug or intoxicant affected, or are addicted to drugs or intoxicants.”.

I move amendment No. 34: In page 21, between lines 28 and 29, to insert the following: “(5) An applicable person shall not be precluded from accessing mental health care or treatment by virtue of the fact that they present with a concurrent mental health disorder and a substance use disorder.”.

I wish to clarify because this is an amendment of which I am unsure. Like the Minister of State said, people present differently and every situation is different. What concerns come up for me in relation to this is that sometimes those who are more vulnerable are maybe not as articulate as others. Often in psychiatric services, somebody who is extremely well educated is able to advocate on behalf of himself or herself even if he or she is being involuntarily admitted. Often, people can advocate for themselves in a …

No, so 14-plus days. Therefore, that can be reduced on a consultant's request.

I was making a broader point.

I want to clarify two points. First, did the Minister of State say that if somebody sees the review board at 14 days, he or she would not be able to see it again until the three-month point? I am not sure whether I heard that correctly, so I want to double-check it. Second, and I do not know whether it can be legislated for as such, I refer to what is kind of the inverse of the need for those in a more vulnerable position or who perhaps come from marginalised groups needing an advocate if they are held for 21 days …

I have sympathy on the 14-day review versus 21 days depending on the person's circumstances. We are debating 14 days versus 21 days, but what is standing out more than anything in the debate is potentially the three-month period being the problem. Was there any discussion on reducing the three-month wait? If somebody goes in front of a board and is not deemed to be able to fully engage, or his or her mental health order is extended, should the three-month wait be reduced? Senator Black made the point about when som…

I am looking at the Minister of State's group of amendments. I am wondering about the reasoning just to understand them. For example, amendment No. 69 is in this group. In a few places we delete the phrase "consultant psychiatrist responsible for the care and treatment of an involuntarily admitted person" and we substitute that with the phrasing "responsible consultant psychiatrist". I want to understand why the language is to be changed there. I ask from the point of view of a family member or someone else who is …

This ties in a little with a question I asked last week. I am not sure whether the Minister of State has had an opportunity between then and now to clarify the position, because it was in a slightly different context from this. What is the course of action for a child who is in Oberstown in the context of section 62 and amendment No. 173? The child is not under the care of Tusla or the agency. Effectively, Oberstown falls under the remit of the Department of children. The parents of these children may be still invo…

I thank the Minister of State. That still does not actually answer my question. I am quite concerned that there is a small gap here in relation to the children I am talking about in Oberstown. What is their legal status in terms of care? If they are in the prison system from the age of 18 years, they are in the care of the State, that is, the justice Department and the Irish Prison Service. Before they turn 18 and they are in Oberstown, they are not actively in the care of their parent physically; they are in Obers…

For me, that raises even more questions about the fact that when a young person is released from Oberstown, there is no care order that extends outside the walls of Oberstown. You are not under a care order, so Tusla does not have to have intervened in the relationship between a parent and a young person who ends up in Oberstown. Are we saying that there is a temporary care order in place while the young person is in Oberstown, and that then overrides the parental involvement in regard to involuntary care, when tha…

I will respond very briefly because I have spoken extensively on it now. I may bring in some amendments on Report Stage to potentially tease it out a little bit more. That is a fair point around the fact that there would be in-reach mental health within Oberstown but what it affects is the regime under which the young person is held. We would have some young people who are kept away from other young people or given restricted regimes, and that might be part of the involuntary piece. It is not that they are moving f…