The Mental Health Commission welcomes opportunity to present to the Oireachtas Committee Disability Matters
The Mental Health Commission has been invited to present to a meeting of the Disability Matters Oireachtas Committee to discuss ‘Decongregation of mental health settings’ on Thursday 8th December at 9.30am.
The MHC submission will focus on the effective implementation of national mental health policy ‘Sharing the Vision’ which seeks to locate mental health services within communities, the learnings from previous situations of decongregation in mental health services and aligning services with the UNCRPD.
Speaking ahead of the meeting Chief Executive of the Mental Health Commission, John Farrelly said our submission to the Disability Matters Committee will focus on three key pieces of legislation that need to be in place in terms of the discussion before the Disability Matters Committee.
“We believe that key to the compliance of the UNCRPD are the commencement of Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 and the Amendment Bill, the urgent reform of the Mental Health Acts extending regulation to all mental health community residential residences and services, and the introduction of the Protection of Liberty Safeguards legislation ensuring that wider safeguarding and legislative mechanisms are in place for the protection of human rights.”
The MHC submission to the committee focuses on
- the urgent need for reform of mental health laws and the need to extend the remit of the MHC so compliance with these laws can be monitored and enforced
- a rights-based approach to safeguarding and calls for urgent reform of the safeguarding structures and the introduction of new safeguarding legislation
- the unsuitability of many mental health facilities, the lack of good governance and lack of funding for maintenance, structural improvements, and new buildings and calls for a clear national costed funded capital plan to address unsafe buildings
- the facts around the process of “deinstitutionalisation” of mental health services in Ireland and highlights the little progress that has been made in addressing the rights of people with mental illness who live in 24-hour supervised community residences
- the current situation of rehabilitation and recovery services and the prospect for people with enduring mental illness and their lack of progression to more independent living remaining in continuing care or overly supported accommodation and calls for regulation and oversight of these services
You can read the full submission to the committee here
You can view the committee meeting here
