Minister Butler secures Government approval for proposed Seanad amendments to Mental Health Bill 2024
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From: Department of Health
- Published on: 28 November 2025
- Last updated on: 28 November 2025
- Government submits over 300 proposed amendments to Mental Health Bill 2024 to Seanad
- Enactment of Bill is a Government priority
- The Bill, which contains over 220 sections, is person-centred and will protect the rights of people with mental health difficulties in the decades ahead
Minister for Mental Health Mary Butler TD has secured approval from Cabinet for proposed Government amendments to the Mental Health Bill 2024, to be taken to the Seanad for Committee Stage debate. The Minister will begin to move the amendments in the Seanad next week (Tuesday, 2nd December 2025).
The prohibition of Electro-convulsive Therapy (ECT) for children, as well as additional safeguards related to capacity assessments and the strengthening of treatment criteria, are among the 300 amendments being introduced.
Two new sections are also being introduced to the Bill to give new powers to the Mental Health Commission to regulate and monitor pharmacological restraint where a person is a risk to their own safety or the safety of others.
Another amendment being proposed in the Seanad will further align the Bill with the Assisted Decision-Making and Capacity Act 2015. This amendment will make it easier for mental health professionals to apply to Court for the appointment of a Decision-Making Representative for people who are involuntarily detained and who lack capacity to make certain decisions about their own treatment.
Minister Butler looks forward to engaging in constructive debate on the amendments and the continued progress of the Bill as a priority through the Houses.
Speaking ahead of Seanad Committee Stage Minister Butler said:
"The enactment of this Bill has been a longstanding priority for me and for the Government and I am pleased to now bring over 300 amendments to the Mental Health Bill at Seanad Committee Stage. I want to ensure that the Bill is as robust as possible, and I believe these amendments will make the Bill stronger. I look forward to working with colleagues in the Seanad and Dáil to progress towards enactment as soon as possible.”
“These amendments are informed by further consultation with stakeholders and other Government Departments. The substantive amendments both seek to address operational issues and to ensure an appropriate balance between respecting the autonomy of individuals while providing for timely access to healthcare.”
Minister Butler concluded:
“It’s vital we enact this legislation to modernise our mental health legislation and to put in place the necessary safeguards to ensure the rights of people with mental health difficulties are vindicated in the decades to come.
“I look forward to working with Senators across the chamber to examine these amendments in the Seanad in the coming weeks and to work towards the enactment of the Bill as soon as possible."
Notes
- The purpose of the Bill is;
- To revise and improve the experience of people who are involuntarily admitted to an acute mental health setting
- To provide new safeguards for those people, to introduce a revised approach to consent to treatment, ensuring that people have more of a say in decisions about their treatment
- To grant new powers to the Mental Health Commission to regulate all community mental health services, including community child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS)
- To provide in statute, a dedicated Part of the Bill that relates exclusively to the care and treatment of children and young people in acute mental health settings including allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to consent to mental health treatment on the same basis as physical health care.
- The Mental Health Bill was published in July 2024 and concluded all stages of the Dail in July 2025.
- Minister Butler and Department of Health officials have continued to consult extensively with key stakeholders about the Bill. Many of the 300 Seanad Committee Stage amendments relate to technical amendments, while others seek to address the concerns of various stakeholder groups.
- The most significant amendments relate to provisions in the Bill for children including the prohibition of electro-convulsive therapy (ECT) to those under 18, as well as introducing the ability for the district court to act as a substitute decision-maker on behalf of children in cases whether it is not possible to ascertain parental consent or refusal of treatment.
- Amendments are also being brought forward in relation to the small proportion of adults who are involuntarily admitted to an acute mental health unit and lack capacity to consent to treatment. New amendments will require admission or treatment be likely to ‘materially benefit’ the condition of a person, rather than just ‘benefit’.
- Amendments are also being introduced to provide for additional safeguards in relation to consent to treatment provisions that establish minimum time periods in which capacity assessments must be carried out in cases where treatment is being administered where a person lacks capacity.