Vol. 566 No. 3
296 Mr. Neville asked the Minister for Health and Children his views on whether the situation is intolerable for mental health professionals and people with mental illness in relation to involuntary psychiatric admission; and his further views on the fact that the current situation is in breach of human rights. [12588/03]
The current criteria under which mentally disordered people may be detained involuntarily are set out in the 1945 Mental Treatment Act, which was last amended in 1961. The Act was innovative legislation in the mid 1940s and its principles have been described as enlightened for its time. However, successive Governments have acknowledged the need to reform this legislation and to bring it into line with current thinking and international norms on the detention of people with mental disorder.
The Mental Health Act 2001 was enacted in July 2001 and represents the first significant reform of mental health legislation in this country for over 50 years. The Act updates legislation concerning the involuntary detention of persons for psychiatric care and treatment and establishes mechanisms by which the standards of care and treatment provided in the mental health services may be supervised and regulated. When fully implemented the Mental Health Act 2001 will bring Irish mental health law fully into conformity with the European Convention on Human Rights and into line with the best practice in the field internationally.
