I thank you for allowing me to raise this matter and the Minister for coming into the House to respond. I should say at the outset that I do not hold the Minister responsible for the great lapse that I have identified. I do not know the reason for this but it has not been given the attention needed.
Section 247 of the Mental Treatment Act, 1945, states that "the Inspector of Mental Hospitals shall, in respect of each year, make to the Minister a report upon every mental institution...and the care of patients therein, and shall include in such report a general account relating to such year of the administration of the law relating to mental institutions and the care, welfare and treatment of persons of unsound mind".
When I went to the Oireachtas Library, which is a reference point when one wants to find out what is happening in relation to the care of patients in mental hospitals, to look for the reports I was surprised to learn that the last report published was for the years 1977-79 and was published in 1982. I asked where the other reports were, having regard to the fact that there has been a number of developments since 1979.
For instance, although the Health (Mental Services) Act was passed by the Oireachtas in 1981 it has not been brought into force. I would like to know what the Minister and the Department are going to do about this. In 1984 the Department of Health produced the report Planning for the Future. Can the Minister tell us if any of its recommendations have been implemented? There has also been a change from institutional to hostel based care while those found criminally insane are sent to the Central Mental Hospital in Dundrum. In recent years a number of people have been forcibly detained in mental hospitals against their will, which is the source of major concern. The most recent case was highlighted in the newspapers last Saturday.
All these matters should be reported on because we have an obligation to patients in mental hospitals, who have no voice and few rights. Indeed, many of them have been abandoned during the years by their own relations and no one knows what has happened to them or where they are. I should say that the inspector of mental hospitals is not functioning properly. After their release, those who had been detained sought in vain to obtain details from the inspector on the reasons they were detained. Indeed many of them did not even receive a reply. I am dealing here with a number of people and they feel very frustrated. This is unacceptable.
For these reasons I give the Minister the opportunity to explain what he is going to do about this matter. I ask him to make reports available for each of the years in respect of which we do not have reports in this important area so that we can see for ourselves what the conditions are in mental hospitals at present.