asked the Minister for Health in view of his reply to Parliamentary Question No. 131 of 9 December 1987 (a) which regulatory powers under the Health (Mental Services) Act, 1981 were found to be defective; and (b) when such defects were ascertained.
Written Answers. - Health (Mental Services) Act, 1981.
91.
There are defects in the Act such as the following:
(a) A review board may order a conditional discharge or revoke an order for conditional discharge (S.39) but there is no definition of conditional discharge or power to prescribe such a definition.
(b) There is no power to make regulations under S.41 regulating the procedures to be adopted by a board reviewing long-stay patients such as is provided in S.38 where a review is requested.
(c) There is no provision for prescribing the form of an extension of a detention order in S.24.
There are certain limitations in the Act such as:
(a) A review board may order discharge or continued detention (S.39) but may not make any other order or recommendations, for instance relating to rehabilitation and re-training of a patient with a view to his discharge.
(b) While the Act permits designation and dedesignation of a hospital it does not provide for the dedesignation of part of a hospital, for instance for use as a mental handicap centre.
These defects were ascertained in the drafting of the necessary regulations.