Victor Boyhan
Agricultural Panel · Independent · Ireland
“It also mentions the agrifood sector and the importance of diversification in agriculture, the maritime sector, coastal communities and fishing communities in terms of rural policy.”
“I know from my engagement with both the Department and the Minister that over 900 submissions to the consultation process were received. No Member or parliamentarian will have had the opportunity to consider the anonymised version of these consultations, which contain many good suggestions in favour of the regulations and many concerns in…”
“I welcome the Minister and the official to the Seanad. This is particularly important Private Members' business. I thank Senators Collins and Tully for setting out the background and the rationale behind their Private Members' motion. I acknowledge the Minister's exceptional commitment to rural Ireland and his Ministry.”
“I am conscious of the Minister's public consultation, and I acknowledge it and thank them for it, in relation to the Our Rural Future work programme in 2025. In fairness to him, he did not stop at that. I received a further update when I requested it from his office very recently.”
“This will come about through that process. It is for the Minister to decide. Maybe he will do so tomorrow when the regulations are dealt with. However, when Senators are in this Chamber discussing these regulations tomorrow, they will have no sight of any constituent who made a submission. That is my first item.”
“I am pleased to see Senator Byrne in the Leader’s chair. I wish him well in that job. I also wish him well in his new position as Government Whip. There are three items I wish to discuss today. First is the exempt development regulations, which are being covered extensively in the media.”
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“Today I thank Fórsa for its advocacy work and its collaboration with politics and policymakers and wish the members of Fórsa and all public servants who work in the Houses of the Oireachtas every success and continued happiness in this workspace.”
“Fórsa is the trade union for over 7,000 workers of services and enterprises, including commercial and non-commercial semi-State organisations and private companies in aviation and communication. It is a critical body that represents a very important workforce in ways that interplay with our work as parliamentarians and the work of those who work in local government, the Civil Service and the public service. Public service is well served by that collaboration. I know all of us want to wish their conference well. I wish the Taoiseach well. It is a collaboration that is going to make this country go forward. It is working together. It is compromising when necessary, but also being fair to our employees and our public services.”
“Fórsa represents 30,000 health and welfare workers, including health and social care professionals and clerical, administrative, management and technical staff. Fórsa is the trade union of choice for over 10,000 local government and service workers, including clerical, administrative, management, technical and professional staff. Fórsa is the education trade union for more than 18,000 staff in our schools and early education, as well as clerical, administrative and management staff in the institutions of technology and our ETBs that we would be very familiar with. Fórsa is also the trade union for municipal workers, supporting general operatives and manual workers in local councils and in educational institutions.”
“Today, I want to take some time to thank Fórsa trade union and its members. I wish its members well. It is now in its second day of its three-day annual conference. I also wish the Taoiseach well as he addresses the conference today and engages, hopefully, in a two-way, respectful dialogue with the members of the trade union. Many Members will see Fórsa magazines in the corridors of Leinster House. I go and get them. I engage with them. I think it is a very credible organisation, and I want to support them. It is important to say that Fórsa is the trade union of choice for over 25,000 civil servants working as clerical, administrative, technical and professional staff and service officers.”
“That is very encouraging and succinct. I like the responses to Commencement matters that come from the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration because they are clear. There is a great sense of clarity about them. We now have a timeline that the Minister of State has confirmed to the House, which is great. It is 12 months. It would be ideal if it could be a bit shorter but clearly there is a lot of work to do. It has to go through both Houses so there are a lot of bits and pieces to that and I understand that. I thank the Minister of State. It is good news in that an agreement is now in place and a clear understanding of the pathway to see the full ratification of this important document. I again thank the Minister of State and ask him to convey my thanks to the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration.”
“I understand that the Government has cited on many occasions that there are complex issues around the consultation and it has emphasised it is its intention to safeguard people, especially vulnerable individuals in detention. My real question is on when the Government intends to ratify this important protocol. I will finish by thanking the Irish Penal Reform Trust, which the Minister of State is very aware of, as well as Mental Health Ireland and other advocates and NGOs in this sector. The real question is when will Ireland will be in a position to fully ratify the optional protocol to the United Nations convention against torture, which is important safeguarding legislation.”
“Ireland has not formally established an independent national preventative mechanism to inspect places of confinement, as required by the treaty. The treaty applies to all areas where liberty is restricted, including mental health units, immigration centres and Garda stations. There are concerns about those places. I understand that the Department of justice has been developing an inspection of places of detention Bill but I do not know where all of that is at. I understand that elements have yet to be finalised. I believe the Minister is absolutely committed to a wide consultation with all the people involved but there are serious issues in relation to this.”
“The overcrowding is another challenge but I do not want to get too far removed from the core of what I want to ask the Minister of State about. In Mr. Kelly's article, which I will make available to Members later but is in the library as we speak, he does not mince his words about his concerns. I will list the concerns, as I understand them. Ratification is critical to creating independent oversight of our prisons, psychiatric units and detention facilities, as recommenced by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission. Key implications of the delay have been put to me and I am satisfied that they meet these criteria because I have spoken to a number of NGOs, Departments and other Government bodies. The concerns can be summarised as follows. We are missing the oversight mechanism.”
“Concerns were raised by the Mental Health Commission but during the previous week we had statements from the Minister for justice on the prison system generally as well as penal reform. They were statements as opposed to legislation, but again there was that recurring theme. Much of what I have to say comes from the request by Mr. Mark Kelly, the Chief Inspector of Prisons, who has raised serious concerns about this issue. I draw the attention of the Minister of State and Senators to the Bar Council review published last week in which Mr. Kelly set out very clearly his concerns about the prisons. Prisons and mental health are two different things but the Minister of State will of course be aware that RTÉ's "Prime Time" did a major investigation into the mental health issues associated with people who were incarcerated in prisons.”
“I thank the Cathaoirleach for selecting this important Commencement matter. I join him in welcoming the Minister of State to the Chamber. I have asked for the Minister to make a statement on when Ireland intends to ratify the optional protocol to the United Nations convention against torture. As the Minister of State knows, Ireland signed that convention in 2017 and is the only EU country yet to ratify it. To give some background, this came about as a result of some ongoing engagement with the Mental Health Bill that completed all Stages in the Oireachtas last week. We had, shall we say, a robust and protracted debate on many aspects of the Bill, which is only right and proper in these Houses. One of the recurring themes was human rights issues and concerns about those.”
“I also acknowledge the significant work of the prison chaplaincy service, which has a very good and strong engagement role and is respected, too, as a unique contact and access for people held in detention in our prison service. I thank the Minister for his time and for responding to the invitation to come here, which was extended some weeks ago. I am particularly pleased, as always, that the lead Minister is coming to engage with us.”
“That clearly is unacceptable. We must have a basic level of human rights, as I think the Minister will agree. I know he has set out the difficulties and I understand some of them. Many of the issues identified remain ongoing and, in some cases, have worsened or escalated since the report was published. I refer in particular to overcrowding. There is a need for urgent action, including measures to improve conditions for prisoners and the need to strengthen independent oversight to ensure the detention conditions meet basic standards of what are basic requirements, dignity and human rights. I wish also to acknowledge the significant and important work of the Jesuit Centre of Faith and Justice in Ireland, which engages in regular commentary on penal reform and social justice.”
“The five reports from the Office of the Inspector of Prisons were based on inspections carried out in Mountjoy Prison, the training unit at Mountjoy, Cork prison, Cloverhill Prison and the Dóchas Centre between 2022 and 2023. They revealed widespread issues, including poor conditions, mistreatment of prisoners and the overuse of restrictive regimes and solitary confinement. Significant failures were identified in accountability, record-keeping and complaints systems. The IPRT also highlighted unacceptable sanitary conditions, which colleagues will see in the report in front of them, and the lack of access to basic necessities. I am deeply concerned about these practices, particularly those in the Dóchas centre. The reports that have come from there are seriously disturbing and include mention of a restrictive lock-back regime.”
“I acknowledge my colleague Senator Ruane, who has really been a powerful and strong advocate in this space and who has brought a lot of her knowledge and understanding to the proceedings of this House. She is not here now, but I want to put on record my thanks to her in that regard. It is also important to acknowledge the Irish Penal Reform Trust, under executive director Saoirse Brady, which continues to advocate for a more just, humane and effective criminal justice system. Its work is always based on research, advocacy and engagement, which is important to note. The Minister will be aware that following the publication of the reports by the chief inspector of prisons on 15 January, the a press release was issued by the Irish Penal Reform Trust, IPRT.”
“I refer to the follow-up inspection report specific to Mountjoy, copies of which Members have in front of them. I also acknowledge the importance of the excellent public service broadcasting of Conor Ryan and the "RTÉ Investigates" documentary shown on 9 and 10 February 2026, which was also raised by me in this House and which exposed the failures of Ireland's mental health system. The RTÉ programme - I am sure the Minister may have seen it - highlights how people in urgent need of psychiatric care are often placed in prison cells rather than receiving the appropriate hospital and community mental health-based care they deserve. We know of cases involving people dying in custody after being turned away from mental health services. This demonstrates that there is an urgent need for practical and alternative systemic reforms.”
“I thank the Minister for coming to the House. Initially, I asked for this debate on the basis of the follow-up inspection report relating Mountjoy Prison for the period 28 April to 2 May 2025. I want to reference that here, because it is important. The inspection report was laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas in last month. As a result, we have been given the opportunity to raise it in this House. I am not going to go into the litany of abuses that have been set out or the photographic evidence contained in the full report. I thank the Minister for coming in here to listen to the debate. I acknowledge and thank Mr. Mark Kelly, the Chief Inspector of Prisons, who drew up the report and made arrangements for it to be laid before the Houses.”
“These are provided by private operators, including rented apartments and houses, bed and breakfasts and hotels. However, these are unregulated and unregistered, private-run facilities that cannot be inspected by the regulatory authority. Remarkably, these SEAs are State-funded from Tusla's budget. It is a shocking indictment of a system that we have allowed go on in this State. I urge every Member of this House to tune in to "RTÉ Investigates" at 9.35 this evening.”
“Rarely does the public hear from young people who are experiencing a care system under increasing pressure, from staff shortages to mounting condemnation from the Judiciary over its failure to meet its lawful obligations to protect children in care in this State. A teenager who we will hear tonight will talk about how he spent months in an adolescent psychiatric unit. Senators will recall many of us discussed this issue last week. When he no longer needed the treatment he had to remain in the psychiatric unit because, as Tusla says, and this will be outlined tonight in the programme, they had no residential placement available for him. Controversial care homes known as special emergency arrangements, SEAs, mean that children are being placed in accommodation to facilitate them.”
“RTÉ will air an "RTÉ Investigates" programme titled "Inside the Care System" tonight at 9.35 p.m. I am highlighting it in the context of our debate on the Mental Health Bill last week and other areas of welfare. "RTÉ Investigates" spent the last year inside the family law court system documenting an unfolding crisis in the care of Ireland's most vulnerable children. It is described as heartbreaking, with the potential to cause lasting damage. In the documentary that will air tonight, we will hear directly from young people who have been through the care system in their own words. I also take this opportunity to thank the documentary's producer and director, Lydia Murphy.”
“This is not rural versus urban and it should never be that, but we do know that the rural communities provide our food. They are important in the food chain, both in the internal market in Ireland, but also across the island, in Great Britain and across greater areas. The measures are welcome. They are a beginning. There has to be flexibility here because we simply do not know what is coming over the horizon. It is also important that we have a sense of caution and realism, and we must manage the expectations of those who are seeking support. I thank the Minister for his presence here today.”
“Also, there are many individual farmers who are represented by no farm organisation and no representative organisation, and they, too, have valid concerns. It is critical that the Government respond now and works together. I will leave the Minister with this message. Let us have absolute clarity where we can on the supports and measures. Let us keep simplification to the fore in how we communicate these measures and how we deliver on the payment, or phased payment, of them. At the end of the day, at the very heart of all of this are sustainable and viable rural communities and, for that matter, urban communities. It is important that we recognise the importance of the private vehicle and the commercial vehicle in the greater debate.”
“I hope we have the IT skills to administer these schemes and payments under them. That is something that the Minister will clearly be keeping under review. It is important that these various schemes are finalised as quickly as possible, rolled out and clearly communicated to the potential applicants. Communication is key here. I want to acknowledge the contribution of the Irish Rural Association, Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association, ICMSA, and the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association, ICSA, who all flagged fuel hardship well in advance of the protests and called for Government supports and interventions. That is an important point. Many of those organisations tell me that they did not feel they were being listened to. They did not feel that their messages were being driven forcefully through. That is their view.”
“It is important that we have communication and realistically manage people's expectations of these supports. While I welcome them, that is an important point to make. I know that the Minister's Department has commenced intensive preparations to implement a suite of measures. The Minister has outlined some of them. Given the scale and complexity, timelines and expectations must be carefully managed to ensure efficient delivery of Government supports. Stakeholders need to be kept informed at the various stages of the schemes. In the past, schemes have not delivered what they promised. I will not repeat all of that. The Minister, many other Members here and I know that there have been difficulties in some schemes about honouring them and making full payments in a timely manner, but I hope we have learned from that.”
“On 12 April, the Government announced a package of measures, which I referenced in relation to the Government Information Service's press release, as published on its website. The Government announced the "package of measures on fuel costs and to support the transport, farming and fisheries sectors." Its release also said that these measures were an important intervention and "in addition to the previously allocated ... targeted supports to assist those experiencing real and immediate financial pressure." It is important now to set out a pathway for implementation, and I say that in simple terms. We need simplification and absolute clarity, but we also need to manage people's legitimate expectation around these funds and supports. It is a moving thing. Every day we wake up there are international pressures. We have to plan for that.”
“We also know the importance of keeping supply chains flowing so that we do not encounter a rocket and feathers effect. That is an important point to make. The IFA is also seeking a fodder scheme and additional supports for the tillage sector, which it mentioned in its press statement. Will the Minister give some feedback on this matter, albeit maybe not today? Will he send us a memo or note on that matter? I know it is at an early stage but that is an ask. The Minister undoubtedly has to take into consideration many demands on his Department in terms of resources, but it is important to put on the record that the IFA is seeking additional support for the tillage sector and mentioned this in its press release.”
“In the IFA's response to the Government package, its president, Francie Gorman, acknowledged the package of measures announced by the Government and said they were "significant" on 13 April. It was important that the IFA made that statement. It has been vocal on many fronts during this campaign, so it was interesting to read and a very powerful line within the IFA's own message. It went on to state "there will need to be regular engagement to keep the situation under constant review to ensure the agri-sector is protected in these highly volatile times" and that the Government must focus on practical supports. The Minister and I know that the pressures on farmers, hauliers, transport operators and those with private and commercial vehicles are enormous. They are under immense pressure.”
“Of course, the cost impacts on farmers, sustainable agriculture, food produce, which is a really important line the Minister mentioned also in his statement. It fuelled anger and frustration and we must learn from that, not demonise anybody over it. I am not suggesting anyone is doing that here. There is a learning there. There was anger and a breaking point. We have to reflect on that, learn from it and move on. I will reference the IFA's response to the Government package. I will quote the IFA's press statement of 13 April 2026. Indeed, I want to reference the Government's announcement for the new package of fuel supports published on 12 April 2026, because they are two important documents.”
“I welcome the Minister. I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach and the Seanad Leader's Office for facilitating this additional hour of debate. It was expected to wrap up last week but a number of people did not get to speak. Thank you for facilitating that. We are talking about the response to the Government's statement in terms of the fuel and the challenges around that. At the very outset, agriculture, horticulture, forestry, fisheries and indeed the equestrian sector - we must not forget that, particularly in the heartland of the Minister's constituency he knows the significance of the equestrian sector - are under enormous pressures from fuel costs. Increases have indeed fuelled anger and frustration. In the Minister's opening lines he confirmed to us that green diesel has nearly doubled in price. That is the reality of it.”
“No Minister will come in here and give us a commitment. All we are asking is that a draft copy of the rural housing guidelines be published. I will revisit this matter tomorrow. It is a big issue for everyone on the doors in Galway, but it should be everywhere. It is time we stopped talking out of both sides of our mouths and got clarity on what is the Government's intention in respect of this matter.”
“I convey my thanks for that and I look forward to engaging with the topic. Additional supports of €100 million have been provided specifically for farmers, fishers, foresters, etc. That is important. We will have that debate later and I acknowledge that. I was in Galway the week before last in the context of the forthcoming by-election. I want to speak about something I have been talking about for all the years I have been in the Seanad, which is the publication of rural housing guidelines. Today, however, the Cabinet is talking about modular housing, an idea dreamt up less than 12 months ago. We now have a circular today on issues relating to that. Everyone in this House from a rural area has spoken about it, whether it is Senators from Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael, but somehow it is falling on deaf ears. No one is listening.”
“I concur with what Senator Gallagher said. I sit on the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture and Food and these issues are debated weekly, but I think there are good reasons for it. Certainly, within the European Union, it makes sense that we do business. That is just a general comment. I would welcome a debate in this House, but I think there are many reasons for this situation. We advocate for trade and competition, of course, and therefore we must engage with competition, certainly within the member states. I thank the Leader's office for facilitating additional time this afternoon for the debate on the Government’s package of fuel supports. It is worthy of debate. I thank the Leader and the Leader's office for being open to extending the period for the debate, given the measure of interest in this topic outside these Houses.”
“However, we will move on because, as a revising Chamber, we are here to bring in primary legislation. I am disappointed that the Minister of State cannot see herself supporting this but, again, that is her prerogative and I respect that. We should make a decision on this amendment.”
“I have the prerogative to come back, of course, which is great. We rarely have that here. However, as I am the proposer and the first signature on this amendment, I do. Let us keep the focus on what this is about. It is about mental health. It is about reform of our mental health service. It is about a commitment to advocate for people who bring things to us. There are whistleblowers who bring issues to us and to the Minister of State. There are practitioners who bring issues to the her and to me, and I never take lightly what anyone brings to me. I am not a mouthpiece for anybody else. I always check my facts. I always cross-reference them. I have illustrated that pretty well here in this debate and this amendment. I have given credit where credit is due.”
“I do not want to pre-empt what the Minister of State might be thinking because she has come in here prepared, as is her right and prerogative, which I respect. I look forward to hearing her response.”
“I am very conscious we are coming up to the deadline time on the clock, unless there has been a change I am not aware of. I will set out my concerns. I am not going to go into it at any great length as we have said it all before. The Minister of State mentioned being shocked earlier but I have been shocked through many parts of this Bill and I put on record I have had some engagement with a psychiatric nurse since I left here. I stand over everything I say. It is about being an advocate, coming in here and telling what people have told us. So much of it is heart-rending and so much of it is about abuse - though not all - and we have got to protect them and we know about that. I finish by saying this is very concerning. This is an important amendment.”
“(5) The Commission shall thereafter include in its annual report an update on progress in implementing recommendations arising under this section.”.”
“(2) The review shall include— (a) an assessment of clinical governance and supervision structures, (b) staffing levels and workforce planning, including the number of whole-time equivalent clinicians required to provide safe and timely care, (c) waiting times and unmet need, (d) procedures for the identification and management of clinical risk, and (e) the adequacy and independence of complaints and review mechanisms. (3) The review shall make recommendations regarding the extension of child and adolescent mental health services towards a youth mental health service model up to the age of 25 years. (4) The Minister shall, within 6 months of receipt of the report, lay a response before each House of the Oireachtas outlining measures to address the findings.”
“I move amendment No. 241: In page 137, between lines 29 and 30, to insert the following: “Review and reporting on child and youth mental health services 144. (1) The Chief Inspector shall, within 12 months of the commencement of this section, undertake and publish a review of governance, clinical oversight, workforce capacity and risk management arrangements within child and adolescent mental health services and youth mental health services.”
“I will give Alan Shatter this. I had dealings with him in relation to the issue of medication and drug trials on people without their consent in this State in State health services. We discussed at great length the issue of bodily integrity as enshrined in the Constitution. There is a lot of law on this, not particularly on electroconvulsive therapy - I want to be very careful here – but generally. I hope that under this Bill we are all moving on and we will have all this reform in time with the primary legislation and all the promised secondary legislation coming our way in the next year or less, perhaps. I am just concerned. I ask the Minister of State to explain to this House the rationale for this and how she has been convinced that this is an appropriate amendment to put before us here today.”
“It is suggested to me that that does not quite happen. It raises questions in terms of the inspectorate of our psychiatric services. I have no doubt but that the Mental Health Commission would be aware of the potential for that abuse. I do not want to get into any more than that except to say I am concerned. I always say about everything, “Put yourself in that position”. We can all put ourselves in the position where it is us at any age where staff say that they think it is good for us to have electroconvulsive therapy treatment, ECT, or a “belt of the box” if we do not toe the line. Any psychiatric nurse listening to this debate will know that expression. It is a shocking expression. It is a humiliation and a degradation and an attack on the constitutional right to bodily integrity, which is enshrined in our Constitution.”
“The issue is there are people who are having this against their will. Over the last few years, people who were very difficult were threatened with it for lack of co-operation. There is a terrible expression which anyone listening in today will know because it is commonly used in psychiatric hospitals – “your one” or “he needs a belt of the box”. A psychiatric nurse could sit in my office a few weeks ago and tell me that, and a psychiatrist. There is a common threat of “You will get a belt of the box”. They are talking about ECT. It is a very frightening experience, particularly when you are not well. There is an expectation that patients be compliant, toe the line, do what the staff say or else there will be a belt of the box. Yes, there is meant to be registration and records kept of that.”
“I wish to speak on this. I know I speak for others here. We have had a lot of contacts from people in relation to electroconvulsive therapy treatment, ECT. It is commonly used. We have seen documentaries about it historically where no consent was given. This was forced ECT. People have had memory loss. I have a colleague who is a practising psychiatrist who told me of his concerns relating to patients who have presented to him, seeing someone go through electroconvulsive therapy and the preparation for that. He has told me about cases. It is supervised, it is not just a psychiatric nurse or clinician who do it. I do not want to get into the detail of it here. It is very professional and I do not in any way want to misrepresent what he told me in confidence. However, he is deeply concerned and he is a professional psychiatrist.”
“This is about the mental health professionals who are asking for this, it is about the advocacy organisations who are asking for this and it is about the relevant stakeholder bodies who are asking for it. I really cannot see why the Minister of State cannot give this her support and see it through into the primary legislation.”
“There may be people after the Minister of State who decide not to enact this particular legislation. I could tell the Minister of State of about ten pieces of legislation that are on the Statute Book for years without being enacted for various reasons. I know things move on, and there can be good reasons for this. I think we could send out a very clear message that we are listening and we are hearing; that we really are acknowledging the lived experience; that we are talking with and supporting families and their advocates, and that we are listening to the mental health professionals who are asking for this. It is not the case that it is just me, Victor Boyhan, coming up with another bit of an old angle.”
“Never be afraid to say a good thing three or four times. Do it. I am not wasting paper. I do not want to waste space. I think what it would do - I say this genuinely - is send out a very strong message to people that yes, the Minister of State is listening. I do not say that she is not listening, but it would send out a message that we are hearing. I had a caller today who said "I believe this Bill is going to be all guillotined, the usual, no parliamentary democracy in the whole place, bloody disgrace". I said "Hang on, we can only do our best." That is all any of us here can do. At the end of the day, sections of this Bill may never be enacted. That is the prerogative those responsible for the process of enacting the various sections. If the Government decides not to enact this at some other stage, I really cannot do anything about it.”
“No, I mean in the ratings they gave Bloomfield through their inspections. I do not want to reopen that. It is on the record. Shauna Bowers's article in The Irish Times covered that. I refer to the ratings they were giving for that place then versus what was found. I want to move on and stay really focused on the amendments. It is so important. The amendment seeks that "In advance of the five-year review of the Act, the Mental Health Commission shall prepare and submit a report". I do not think it is too much if it is in the primary Act. Primary legislation is what we are dealing with. What are we doing? If it is all going to be secondary legislation, we might as well go home. We are here to work constructively with the Minister of State and her officials. If it is a good thing and it is happening twice, so be it; that is great.”
“I thank the Minister of State. However, I do not agree with her: the key words are "in advance" of the five-year review of the Act. That is what I am asking for. Of course the Mental Health Commission will carry out reviews. As a matter of fact the Mental Health Commission is on a sort of three-year cycle. They are under pressure and they have limited resources. I took a look this morning at the latest reports up on their website. They are running slightly behind this time. They are under pressure so they have to prioritise areas. I mean - hang on - we know what the Mental Health Commission had to say about Bloomfield-----”
“Looking at the contributions of Members in the Dáil from her own party who spoke on the issues here, this is common sense and hopefully, he will agree with what is a very reasonable, fair and pragmatic amendment to this Bill.”
“I call for evidence-based recommendations aimed at strengthening the rights-based approach because that hits at the kernel of the matter. When I talked to all of the advocates and families involved, the Irish Human Rights Equality Commission, IHREC, and all of the other organisations, they all said it has to be about human rights. It has to be about rights-based, person-centred approaches of care and enhancing supported decision-making in line with national and international human rights. That is why I mentioned the conventions earlier. I cannot anticipate what the Minister of State will say but I do not see any conflict with what she has said and is on the record as saying here with what I am proposing.”
“I acknowledge that and I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge the enormous work, from the board all the way down to everyone within the service. On the whole, the majority of them do a really good job and it is important that we say that here. I mention the relevant authorities and how the report shall include evidence-based recommendations because the Minister of State has made the point that we have to, I will not say follow the science, but we are emotionally connected with past experiences and we see the world from where we stand and our experiences within it. Let us be honest. Our experiences impact and affect us and our way of thinking and experiencing but also sharing, propagating and advancing policy. That is what brings that authenticity to the contributions of Members in this particular House. It is important.”