Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 7 March 2024
347. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Health if he has the statutory powers under Section 34 of the Mental Health Act 2001 to regulate CAMHS; if he will do so as it is the primary recommendation made by the Mental Health Commission in its report on CAMHS; why he has not done so to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11235/24]
View answerNo, neither I nor the Minister for Health have the statutory powers under Section 34 of the Mental Health Act 2001 to regulate community CAMHS. The proposed use of section 34 to regulate community CAMHS would be beyond the scope of what that section provides for and would fail the principles and policies test, leaving any regulation made thereunder legally unsound and very vulnerable to legal challenge.
Internal legal advice on the use of section 34 of the 2001 Act supports this view.
A robust legal framework is necessary to underpin any regulation. This is as true in mental health services as in any other sector. For example, the regulation of approved centres (including inpatient CAMHS), and the power of the Inspector of Mental Health Services to inspect these services, is set out in detail across the Mental Health Act 2001, particularly sections 51, 52 and 69, as well as all of Part 5 of the Act. The Mental Health Act 2001 (Approved Centres) Regulations provide a further legal basis for the regulation of approved centres.
The only way to ensure the regulation of all community mental health services has a proper legal basis is through primary legislation that includes a robust legal framework setting out powers related to registration, regulation, and inspection of such services, and including provisions related to enforcement and penalties for noncompliance.
My officials are in the final months of drafting a new Mental Health Bill that will comprehensively address the regulation of all community mental health services, for adults and for children. The Bill will also provide a revised approach to the involuntary admission process, an overhauled approach to consent to treatment provisions, a more human rights-centred approach, additional safeguards for people accessing inpatient services, and a new, discrete Part of the Bill related to the care and treatment of children and young people. I will introduce the Bill to the Oireachtas in the summer Dáil session, following its finalisation and publication.
