From Mad in Ireland: The Mental Health Act, 2001, though very progressive for its time, is now completely out of line with international human rights standards including the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). The legislation is at odds with recovery-focused, person-centred mental health care. This reform bill, the Mental Health Bill 2024 was a commitment in the Programme for Government and has already received significant consultation and discussion. The Draft Heads of the Bill were published in July 2021 and MHR published a Human Rights Analysis on the Heads of the Bill in October 2021. This was co- authored by the late and great, Dr Fiona Morrissey, and Dr Charles O’ Mahony, University of Galway. The Bill then went through the Pre-Legislative Scrutiny process and the Sub-Committee on Mental Health produced a Pre-Legislative Scrutiny report with 19 recommendations.
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