Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 December 2025
1143. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Health for a detailed timeline for the commencement of all parts of the new Mental Health Act, including extension of regulatory oversight to community services and CAMHS; and the resources being allocated to the Mental Health Commission to implement these functions. [72466/25]
View answerThe revision of the Mental Health Act and the development of a new Mental Health Bill has been a longstanding priority of the Department and Minister for Mental Health and features in the current Programme for Government, as well as in previous Programmes for Government. It is also a major component of Recommendation 92 of our national mental health policy, Sharing the Vision, and a priority project under Sláintecare. The purpose of the Mental Health Bill is to uphold and strengthen the rights of people accessing mental health services. The Bill enhances the rights of people to make decisions about themselves and to express their will and preferences.
The Government recognises the importance of ensuring all mental health services, both inpatient and community, and both adult and child and adolescent, are fully registered, regulated, and inspected by the Mental Health Commission in its role as the independent regulator of mental health services.
Under the Mental Health Act 2001, the Mental Health Commission registers, inspects, and regulates all inpatient mental health services, including inpatient CAMHS. The new Bill will give statutory responsibility to the Commission to register, inspect and regulate all mental health services in the community. Last Summer, I requested the Mental Health Commission begin the process of developing standards for the regulation of CAMHS. The Commission conducted a public consultation on the development of these standards which concluded just before the end of 2025. Work is ongoing to facilitate accelerated implementation of this new function of the Commission.
The Bill provides the necessary legal underpinning to ensure that the Mental Health Commission can regulate all community services. Additionally, the Bill will overhaul the involuntary admission and detention process, modernise provisions related to consent to treatment, provide enhanced safeguards for people accessing inpatient treatment, and provide a new, discrete Part that relates exclusively to the care and treatment of children and young people.
The Mental Health Bill is progressing through the legislative process and is currently in Committee Stage in the Seanad. It will be enacted in Q1 2026 and commenced on a phased basis.
While there will be costs associated with this Bill (both capital and current), they are not anticipated to arise until 2027 based on current implementation timelines. Any costs arising will be subject to prioritisation against other competing demands as part of the annual Estimates Process for the relevant year.
As the Bill moves towards enactment, the Department is engaging proactively with the HSE and the Mental Health Commission to put in place the necessary resourcing and implementation structures needed to commence the legislation.
