Mental Health Act 20266

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Interpretation

2. (1) In this Act—

“Act of 1991” means the Child Care Act 1991 ;

“Act of 1997” means the European Parliament Elections Act 1997 ;

“Act of 2001” means the Mental Health Act 2001 ;

“Act of 2007” means the Medical Practitioners Act 2007 ;

“Act of 2014” means the Companies Act 2014 ;

“Act of 2015” means the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 ;

“Act of 2018”, other than in Chapter 2 of Part 7 , means the Domestic Violence Act 2018 ;

“adult” means a person who is 18 years of age or older;

“Agency” means the Child and Family Agency;

“Assistant Inspector” means a person appointed under section 137 ;

“authorised officer” means an officer of the Executive who is of a prescribed rank or grade and who is authorised by the Director General of the Executive to exercise the powers conferred on authorised officers by or under this Act;

“Board” has the meaning assigned to it in section 101 ;

“capacity”, in relation to an adult or a child, has the same meaning as it has in section 2 of the Act of 2015, and shall be construed in accordance with section 3 of that Act;

“capacity assessment” means—

(a) in relation to an adult, an assessment or a second capacity assessment carried out in accordance with section 45 , and

(b) in relation to a child aged 16 years or older, an assessment or a second capacity assessment carried out in accordance with section 61 ;

“care order” has the same meaning as it has in section 18 of the Act of 1991;

“care plan” means—

(a) in relation to an adult, a plan prepared under section 186 by a member of a person’s multidisciplinary team, and where possible, in consultation with the person the subject of the plan, and

(b) in relation to a child, a plan prepared under section 187 by a member of a child’s multidisciplinary team, and where possible, in consultation with the child where appropriate or the relevant consulted carers, if any, of the child the subject of the plan;

“Chief Executive Officer” means the chief executive officer of the Commission appointed in accordance with section 110 ;

“Chief Inspector” means the person who holds the office of Inspector of Mental Health Services in accordance with section 134 ;

“child” means a person who has not attained the age of 18 years;

“child aged 16 years or older lacking necessary capacity admitted with parental consent” means a child admitted to a registered acute mental health centre under section 64 ;

“civil partner” means a person in a civil partnership or legal relationship to which section 3 of the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010 applies;

“clinical director” means a person appointed by the governing body of a registered acute mental health centre under section 172 ;

“code of practice” means a code of practice issued and published under this Act which is for the time being in force and includes part of such a code;

“cohabitant” means one of 2 adults (whether of the same or opposite sex) who live together as a couple in an intimate and committed relationship and who are not married to each other or civil partners of each other;

“Commission” means the Mental Health Commission established by the Act of 2001 and continued in being under section 99 ;

“consultant psychiatrist” means a registered medical practitioner who is registered in the Specialist Division under the medical specialty of “Psychiatry”;

“criteria for involuntary admission” shall be construed in accordance with section 11 ;

“criteria for involuntary admission of a child” shall be construed in accordance with section 65 ;

“decision” means, unless the context otherwise requires, a decision under this Act concerning the care and treatment of a person and includes, but is not limited to, a decision to make an involuntary admission order or a renewal order in relation to the person;

“decision-making representative” has the same meaning as it has in section 2 of the Act of 2015;

“designated centre”, other than in section 153 , has the same meaning as it has in the Criminal Law (Insanity) Act 2006 ;

“direct application for a recommendation for involuntary admission” has the meaning assigned to it in section 14 ;

“emergency care order” has the meaning assigned to it in section 13 of the Act of 1991;

“examination”, in relation to a recommendation for involuntary admission, an involuntary admission order, a renewal order or a proposed transfer under section 35 , of any person under this Act, means a personal examination carried out by a registered medical practitioner or a consultant psychiatrist of the process and content of thought, the perceptions, emotion and mood, judgment and the behaviour of the person concerned in order to make a diagnosis or a preliminary diagnosis;

“Executive” means the Health Service Executive;

“guardian” means, in relation to a child—

(a) a guardian pursuant to the Guardianship of Infants Act 1964 , or

(b) the person acting in loco parentis to that child;

“guardian ad litem” means, in relation to a child, a guardian ad litem (within the meaning of section 35A of the Act of 1991) appointed for the child in accordance with Part VA of the Act of 1991;

“guiding principles” shall be construed—

(a) in relation to an adult, in accordance with section 8 , and

(b) in relation to a child, in accordance with section 9 ;

“interim care order” has the meaning assigned to it in section 17 of the Act of 1991;

“involuntarily admitted child” means a child who fulfils the criteria for involuntary admission of a child and is subject to an involuntary admission order or a renewal order;

“involuntarily admitted person” means an adult who fulfils the criteria for involuntary admission in section 11 and has been admitted to a registered acute mental health centre pursuant to an involuntary admission order or a renewal order;

“involuntary admission order” has the meaning assigned to it—

(a) in relation to an adult, in sections 21 and 37 , and

(b) in relation to a child, in section 66 ;

“legal representative” means a practising barrister or a practising solicitor;

“local authority” has the same meaning as it has in the Local Government Act 2001 ;

“mechanical restraint” means the application of any mechanical means of bodily restraint to a person in which a garment or a mechanical device restricts, prevents or otherwise limits a person’s freedom of movement or access to his or her own body;

“medical specialty” means a medical specialty recognised by the Medical Council under section 89 of the Act of 2007;

“mental disorder” means, in relation to a person, any mental illness or mental health difficulty, whether of a continuous or intermittent nature, which seriously affects the person’s thinking, perception, emotion, mood or judgment leading to significant impairment of the mental function of the person;

“mental health services” means services which provide care and treatment to persons living with a mental disorder or other mental health difficulty, and includes registered mental health services;

“mental healthcare professional” means—

(a) a consultant psychiatrist,

(b) a registered nurse within the meaning of section 2 (1) of the Nurses and Midwives Act 2011 , or

(c) a member of one or more of the following designated professions within the meaning of section 3 of the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005 , namely:

(i) social worker;

(ii) occupational therapist;

(iii) speech and language therapist;

(iv) such other designated profession within the meaning of the said section 3 of the said Act as the Minister considers appropriate and may prescribe by regulations under section 3 ;

“Minister” means the Minister for Health;

“multidisciplinary team” means a team of mental healthcare professionals providing mental health services to a person;

“nominated person” means an adult nominated—

(a) in relation to an adult, in accordance with section 192 , and

(b) in relation to a child aged 16 years or older, in accordance with section 193 ;

“parent” means—

(a) in relation to a child, subject to paragraph (b), the father or mother (both within the meaning of section 2 of the Guardianship of Infants Act 1964 ) of the child,

(b) in relation to a child who is a donor-conceived child, the parent or parents of that child under section 5 of the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015 , or

(c) in relation to a child where one parent has the sole custody, charge or care of the child, that parent;

“parents or guardian or the Agency” means—

(a) in relation to a child the subject of a care order, the Agency, and

(b) in all other circumstances, the child’s parents, or either of them, or guardian;

“permitted absence” has the meaning assigned to it—

(a) in relation to an adult, in section 38 , and

(b) in relation to a child, in section 82 ;

“pharmacological restraint” means the administration of medication to a person where the only purpose of such administration is to—

(a) control the person’s behaviour, or

(b) restrict, prevent or limit the person’s freedom of movement or access to his or her own body,

but does not include the administration of medication that is for the purposes of treating or ameliorating his or her mental disorder;

“physical restraint” means the application of any bodily restraint to a person where the intention is to restrict, prevent or otherwise limit a person’s freedom of movement or access to his or her own body;

“practising barrister” has the same meaning as it has in the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015 ;

“practising solicitor” has the same meaning as it has in the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015 ;

“premises” includes land, water and any fixed or moveable structures thereon and also includes vessels, vehicles, trains, aircraft and other means of transport;

“prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made by the Minister;

“recommendation for involuntary admission” has the meaning assigned to it in section 15 ;

“register” means—

(a) in relation to a registered acute mental health centre, the Register of acute mental health centres,

(b) in relation to a registered community mental health centre, the Register of community mental health centres, and

(c) in relation to a registered community mental health service, the Register of community mental health services;

“Register of acute mental health centres” has the meaning assigned to it in section 146 ;

“Register of community mental health centres” has the meaning assigned to it in section 147 ;

“Register of community mental health services” has the meaning assigned to it in section 148 ;

“registered acute mental health centre” means any acute mental health centre registered by the Commission in accordance with Chapter 2 of Part 6 where acute mental health care and treatment are offered;

“registered community mental health centre” means any community-based residential centre (other than a registered acute mental health centre) registered by the Commission in accordance with Chapter 2 of Part 6 which—

(a) provides specialist mental health care and treatment for persons with an enduring mental disorder or other mental health difficulty, and

(b) is staffed on a 24 hour basis;

“registered community mental health service” means any community-based service registered by the Commission in accordance with Chapter 2 of Part 6 providing care and treatment for persons with a mental disorder or other mental health difficulty other than in a registered acute mental health centre or a registered community mental health centre;

“registered medical practitioner” means a person who is a registered medical practitioner within the meaning of section 2 of the Act of 2007;

“registered mental health service” means—

(a) a registered acute mental health centre,

(b) a registered community mental health centre, or

(c) a registered community mental health service;

“registered proprietor” means, in relation to a registered mental health service, the person whose name is entered in the register as the person carrying on the business of the registered mental health service;

“relative” means, in relation to a person, a parent, grandparent, son, daughter, grandchild, sibling, aunt or uncle of the person by blood, adoption, marriage or civil partnership;

“relevant advocacy service” means a service which assists or supports a person in expressing his or her will and preferences, or otherwise in making his or her views known, in relation to mental health services being provided to the person;

“relevant carer” means—

(a) in relation to a child the subject of a care order, a voluntary care arrangement, an emergency care order or an interim care order, the Agency, and

(b) in all other circumstances, the child’s parents, or either of them, or guardian;

“relevant consulted carers” means—

(a) in relation to a child the subject of a care order, the Agency,

(b) in relation to a child the subject of a voluntary care arrangement, an emergency care order or an interim care order—

(i) where the child concerned is a voluntarily admitted child under 16 years of age or a child aged 16 years or older lacking necessary capacity admitted with parental consent—

(I) the Agency, and

(II) his or her parents, or either of them, or guardian,

(ii) where the child concerned is a voluntarily admitted child aged 16 years or older, at the child’s request—

(I) the Agency,

(II) his or her parents, or either of them, or guardian, or

(III) the persons in clauses (I) and (II),

(iii) where the child concerned is an involuntarily admitted child under 16 years of age or is under 16 years of age and the subject of an application for involuntary admission under section 66 —

(I) the Agency, and

(II) his or her parents, or either of them, or guardian,

and

(iv) where the child concerned is an involuntarily admitted child aged 16 years or older or is aged 16 years or older and the subject of an application for involuntary admission under section 66 , at the child’s request or where, in the opinion of the responsible consultant psychiatrist, it is in the child’s best interests—

(I) the Agency,

(II) his or her parents, or either of them, or guardian, or

(III) the persons in clauses (I) and (II),

and

(c) where paragraph (a) or (b) does not apply—

(i) where the child concerned is a voluntarily admitted child under 16 years of age or a child aged 16 years or older lacking necessary capacity admitted with parental consent, his or her parents, or either of them, or guardian,

(ii) where the child concerned is a voluntarily admitted child aged 16 years or older, at the child’s request, his or her parents, or either of them, or guardian,

(iii) where the child concerned is an involuntarily admitted child under 16 years of age or is under 16 years of age and the subject of an application for involuntary admission under section 66 , his or her parents, or either of them, or guardian, and

(iv) where the child concerned is an involuntarily admitted child aged 16 years or older or is aged 16 years or older and the subject of an application for involuntary admission under section 66 , at the child’s request or where, in the opinion of the responsible consultant psychiatrist, it is in the child’s best interests, his or her parents, or either of them, or guardian;

“relevant health professional” means—

(a) a registered medical practitioner, or

(b) a registered nurse or registered midwife within the meaning of the Nurses and Midwives Act 2011 ,

who is appropriately trained to order or initiate the application of, or apply, a restrictive practice;

“relevant notified carers” means—

(a) in relation to a child the subject of a care order, the Agency,

(b) in relation to a child the subject of a voluntary care arrangement, an emergency care order, an interim care order or a supervision order, his or her parents, or either of them, or guardian and the Agency, and

(c) where paragraph (a) or (b) does not apply, the child’s parents, or either of them, or guardian;

“renewal order” has the meaning assigned to it—

(a) in relation to an adult, in section 22 , and

(b) in relation to a child, in section 67 ;

“responsible consultant psychiatrist” means, in relation to a person receiving care and treatment in a registered acute mental health centre under this Act, a consultant psychiatrist who is responsible for that person at any given time;

“responsible person” has the meaning assigned to it in section 171 ;

“restrictive practice” means physical restraint, mechanical restraint, pharmacological restraint or seclusion;

“review board” has the meaning assigned to it in section 26 ;

“review panel” has the meaning assigned to it in section 26 ;

“seclusion” means the placing or leaving of a person in any room in which he or she is prevented from leaving freely or cannot otherwise leave freely;

“service provider” has the meaning assigned to it in section 19 ;

“Specialist Division” has the same meaning as it has in the Act of 2007;

“specified person” means a person who—

(a) is appropriately trained to carry out any restrictive practice,

(b) applies a restrictive practice under the direct supervision of a consultant psychiatrist or a relevant health professional, and

(c) is employed by or otherwise works in a registered acute mental health centre or a designated centre;

“spouse” means, in relation to a person—

(a) the husband or wife, as the case may be, of the person,

(b) the civil partner of the person, or

(c) the cohabitant of the person;

“supervision order” has the meaning assigned to it in section 19 of the Act of 1991;

“treatment” in relation to a person, other than in sections 36 and 79 , includes the administration of physical, psychological and other remedies relating to the care and rehabilitation of the person under clinical supervision, intended for the purposes of ameliorating a mental disorder or other mental health difficulty, and includes any relevant ancillary treatment and tests required for the purposes of safeguarding the person’s life or ameliorating the person’s condition;

“voluntarily admitted child” means a child who—

(a) is receiving care and treatment in a registered acute mental health centre,

(b) is not subject to an involuntary admission order or a renewal order, and

(c) is not a child aged 16 years or older lacking necessary capacity admitted with parental consent;

“voluntarily admitted person” means an adult who is receiving care and treatment in a registered acute mental health centre and who is not subject to an involuntary admission order or a renewal order;

“voluntary care arrangement” means a care arrangement under section 4 of the Act of 1991.

(2) In this Act, until such time as section 249 comes into operation, the following modifications shall apply:

(a) a reference to the Family High Court shall be construed as a reference to the High Court with any necessary modifications;

(b) a reference to the Family Circuit Court shall be construed as a reference to the Circuit Court;

(c) a reference to—

(i) the Family District Court, or

(ii) the Family District Court or the District Court,

shall be construed as a reference to the District Court with any necessary modifications;

(d) a reference to—

(i) the Family District Court district, or

(ii) the Family District Court district or District Court district,

shall be construed as a reference to the District Court district with any necessary modifications;

(e) in section 71 (5)—

(i) paragraph (a)(ii) shall not apply, and

(ii) in paragraph (d), the words “a sitting of the Family District Court or” are deleted;

(f) in section 88 (3)—

(i) paragraph (a)(ii) shall not apply, and

(ii) in paragraph (d), the words “a sitting of the Family District Court or” are deleted.