Get up, stand up

JUST before the Dáil rose for the summer yesterday, it passed a Fianna Fáil bill to strengthen the rights of mental health patients, a group of citizens very often numbered among the most vulnerable in our society. 

The bill provides for greater consultation with patients; it will now be sent to the Seanad.

That piece of business is one of the last our parliament will move on until the end of September, raising again that hardy annual — how effective, how relevant can our parliament be if it closes down for extended periods?