28 November 2006
SECTION 2.
Acting Chairman (Mr. Dardis): Amendments Nos. 1, 2, 4, 13, 74, 80 and 81 are related and may be discussed together by agreement.
Mr. Cummins: I move amendment No. 1:
In page 6, line 5, after "his" to insert "or her".
This amendment is entirely technical in nature and refers to the definition of "governor". As a general rule, the practice in legislation is to refer to gender-neutral terms such as "member", "practitioner", "officer", "Minister", etc., in a gender-neutral fashion by using the phrases "him and her" or "his or her". I presume it is merely an omission on the Parliamentary Counsel's part that, in the definition, the governor is referred to only in masculine terms. However, this omission does, perhaps, betray outdated stereotypes.
Dr. Henry: I support the amendment because there are several women governors in our prisons.
Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Mr. M. McDowell): I accept the amendment.
Amendment agreed to.
Amendment No. 2 not moved.
Question proposed: "That section 2, as amended, stand part of the Bill."
Dr. Henry: Will the Bill cater for people in designated centres, as described under the Criminal Law (Insanity) Act? If the answer is "Yes", we would need to include an amendment in respect of the definition of "prisoner". It is important to ensure people who may be brought to court from the Central Mental Hospital or from court to that institution or another designated centre be catered for under the Bill. In my view, the definition of "prisoner" should be expanded to include the phrase "or a designated centre under the terms of the Criminal Law (Insanity) Act 2006".
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Dr. Henry: I assure the Senator this is not being done to stigmatise those who are mentally ill but to ensure absolute clarity. While a criminal act may have been carried out by such people when they suffered from hallucinations, delusions and so on, by the time they are dealt with, they could be perfectly rational because of treatment. I am trying to establish whether the Minister proposes to segregate individuals admitted via the Central Mental Hospital, for example. While we do not need to discuss the prison escort service because the problem has been solved, my anxiety relates to whether these individuals will be stigmatised by being segregated. I agree with doctors who say it is not suitable to put a hospital on the same site as a prison and I have raised this several times with the Minister. I wonder how people who are mentally ill will be dealt with when they are moved from hospital to prison. The Minister has also made provision for children, another group about whom I would like clarity.
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