This is a joint post by Eilionóir Flynn and Charles O’ Mahony.
On Monday, while commotion ensued in Dáil Éireann and political controversy and speculation abounded, a small group of individuals were cut off from the nearby action in a seminar (co-hosted by the Centre for Disability Law and Policy and Amnesty International Ireland) about the implications of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) for mental health law in Ireland. Although it might seem to some that this is a strange time to be talking about mental health reform given the current economic crisis, one of the central themes of the event is one which has serious resonance for Ireland’s current predicament.
Gabór Gombos (pictured), a newly elected member of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (and a former mental health service user) presented the following as his key message: we should not compromise on the core norms of dignity and autonomy when faced with difficulties in implementation. Rather, we should accept genuine steps in a positive direction, even where these start from a very low base. This reasoning does not only have its basis on the notion of progressive realisation enshrined in international human rights law. Rather, it presupposes that, as a nation, there is a consensus on the type of society we want to have and what rights and responsibilities this would entail. It appears that such a consensus has never been sought from the Irish people and the current situation serves as a reminder for the need for a rational public discourse on the norms that we agree to live by and be governed by.