A call to modify Ireland's Mental Health Act of 2001 to conform with international human rights law

Abstract

Although Ireland has benefited greatly from its inclusion in the European and international community, there is a grave injustice being perpetuated by a current law, the details of which run completely contrary to international law. The Irish Mental Health Act of 2001 (MHA) allows for the incarceration of the mentally disabled for up to three weeks without a hearing or legal representation. Furthermore, it provides that electroconvulsive shock therapy can be administered to a patient, without his or her consent, so long as two doctors agree on its use. Both provisions not only set the mental health system in Ireland in a position that is ripe for abuse, but they also transfer the responsibility for the care of the mentally disabled from the individual in question to medical professionals. This paper shows how both policies place Ireland outside the laws and treaties of the European Union, Council of Europe, United Nations, and other individual nations. In fact Ireland's criminal law provides better accommodation for suspected criminals than does the MHA for the mentally disabled. Without much effort from lawmakers the MHA could be amended to better protect the rights of the mentally disabled, which would also provide the benefit of placing Ireland on the leading edge of mental health reform in Europe.