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.

I move amendment No. 55: In page 36, between lines 28 and 29, to insert the following: “Transfer from prison where person appears to fulfil criteria for involuntary admission 19. (1) Where a person detained in a prison appears to a registered medical practitioner, the Governor of the prison, or the Director General of the Irish Prison Service, to fulfil the criteria for involuntary admission under section 12, the matter shall be referred without delay to an authorised officer for assessment. (2) An authorised offic…

It is self-explanatory. Perhaps the Minister of State would like to respond briefly. That is her call. I am conscious of time; I think we all are. I do not want us going out of here saying we did not have sufficient time. We now have time and if we use it constructively we can complete this Bill within that time.

I note the Minister of State is concerned about capacity; she issued a press release from the Government Information Service which I have in front of me, "The Minister for Mental Health ... announced ... the recruitment of six new Suicide Crisis Assessment Nurse teams for primary care..." That is in the context that an "unprecedented 300 additional mental health staff will be recruited in 2026". I look forward to that recruitment. It was issued by the Government press office. It is related. It is not as many as we …

I am pressing it, yes.

I move amendment No. 65: In page 42, between lines 25 and 26, to insert the following: “ Report on maximising autonomy 27. In advance of the five-year review of the Act, the Mental Health Commission shall prepare and submit a report reviewing strategies to maximise patient autonomy within mental health services. This report shall be developed in consultation with a broad range of stakeholders, including but not limited to: (a) people with lived experience; (b) family members and advocates; (c) mental health profess…

The amendment is about a report on maximising autonomy. I propose that in advance of the five-year review of the Act, the Mental Health Commission shall prepare and submit a report reviewing strategies to maximise patient autonomy within the mental health services. This report shall be developed in consultation with a broad range of stakeholders, including but not limited to people with the lived experience, family members and advocates, mental health professionals, mental health advocacy organisations and relevant…

It is quite frustrating. They are working under enormous pressure. They are working under enormous time constraints. It is very hard to recruit staff. Recently, I was told by someone in a recruitment agency that when they mention Tusla, no one nearly wants to apply. They ask what they are doing here with that shower. That is not correct and I want to correct that narrative. Tusla does amazing work on very complex issues, conflicting interests and families that are broken for various reasons through no fault of thei…

I thank the Minister of State. However, I do not agree with her: the key words are "in advance" of the five-year review of the Act. That is what I am asking for. Of course the Mental Health Commission will carry out reviews. As a matter of fact the Mental Health Commission is on a sort of three-year cycle. They are under pressure and they have limited resources. I took a look this morning at the latest reports up on their website. They are running slightly behind this time. They are under pressure so they have to p…

No, I mean in the ratings they gave Bloomfield through their inspections. I do not want to reopen that. It is on the record. Shauna Bowers's article in The Irish Times covered that. I refer to the ratings they were giving for that place then versus what was found. I want to move on and stay really focused on the amendments. It is so important. The amendment seeks that "In advance of the five-year review of the Act, the Mental Health Commission shall prepare and submit a report". I do not think it is too much if it …

I am pushing it.

I wish to speak on this. I know I speak for others here. We have had a lot of contacts from people in relation to electroconvulsive therapy treatment, ECT. It is commonly used. We have seen documentaries about it historically where no consent was given. This was forced ECT. People have had memory loss. I have a colleague who is a practising psychiatrist who told me of his concerns relating to patients who have presented to him, seeing someone go through electroconvulsive therapy and the preparation for that. He has…

I am shocked.

I am shocked at the Minister of State.