Sinn Féin spokesperson on Mental Health, Mark Ward TD, has said that the government must prioritise the Mental Health Bill after two years of broken promises.

Deputy Ward added that he has written to Minister Mary Butler and asked that this Bill, which was finally published by government this month, be introduced at second stage as soon as the Dáil resumes after summer recess.

Teachta Ward said:

“Mental Health has not been a priority for this government or previous governments before it. This is clear in how slowly they have reacted to crises and how poorly they have funded the sector.

“This month, the government finally published their Bill to reform the 2001 Mental Health Act.

“The Programme for Government promised to reform the Mental Health Act and pre-legislative scrutiny of this Bill was completed in late 2022.

“It has been nearly two years of false promises by the government to draft and publish their Bill.

“Whilst I welcome that the Bill has finally been published, it is very unlikely to pass through the Houses of the Oireachtas before the General Election.

“I have written to Minister Mary Butler and asked that this Bill be introduced at second stage as soon as the Dáil resumes after recess as a priority.

“This Bill is an opportunity to put in place a robust, person-centric mental health legislation that will protect the rights of people with mental health difficulties in the decades ahead.

“A delay in reforming the Mental Health Act 2001 has real consequences with a continued lack of regulation of CAMHS under the Act, for example. I have introduced legislation to regulate CAMHS and give the Mental Health Commission the statutory powers to oversee the implementation of their recommendations, that were made following their review of CAMHS.

“We have had review after review into CAMHS, but no urgency from the government to prioritise this legislation. This delay is letting our young people down once again.

“A Sinn Féin government would prioritise mental health reform as can be seen in the Mental Health Action Plan, which we launched last week.”

Sinn Féin’s Mental Health Action Plan can be read here: https://vote.sinnfein.ie/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Sinn-Fein-Mental-Health-Plan-2024.pdf