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26th February 2024
01:07pm GMT
Andrew McGinley believes the new Mental Health Bill is not enough to prevent further tragedies from happening.
The dad-of-three's children, Conor, Darragh, and Carla, were killed by their mother in January 2020.
He tragically discovered their bodies at their home in Co. Dublin. His wife, Deirdre Morley was arrested following the harrowing discovery but was found not guilty by reason of insanity.
Andrew has been campaigning for better mental health support and laws in Ireland following his children's untimely deaths.
The dad has slated the new Mental Health Bill that includes: "provisions to allow people accessing mental health services to consult with family members, carers or any other person nominated by them during the course of their treatment."
It will "enshrine this right, as there are no provisions in the Mental Health Act that provide a formal role for family members or other people nominated by the person nominated by the person concerned".
He told The Irish Mirror that more needs to be done to help prevent further tragedies.
"She [Deirdre Morley] did not want me involved and therefore I wasn’t told the full extent of her illness, but if I’d been included all the way along, my children would be alive today.
"I have full respect for patient confidentiality, but in this case – with a patient telling the clinician she did not feel safe around her children – it should have been breached.
"The decision not to keep me informed led to the deaths of my children and unfortunately I believe more children will die in similar circumstances because this legislation does nothing to change that," he said.
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