Nearly 3,000 people a year who are admitted to psychiatric hospitals involuntarily will have the legality of their detention reviewed automatically and quickly by new mental health tribunals.
The cases of almost 1,000 patients currently detained in psychiatric hospitals will also be reviewed, the Minister for Health and Children has announced.
The measures are included in a new mental health Bill to be published before Christmas. The decision was greeted with delight by Mr Andrew Logue, of the Disability Federation of Ireland.
"It has taken mental illness out of the back wards," he said. "It marks a new millennium for people with a mental illness."
The tribunals will operate under the auspices of a new mental health commission which, Mr Cowen said, will ensure "the interests of persons with a mental illness or a mental disorder are protected".
The tribunals will review the case of every person admitted to a psychiatric centre against their will and this review will be completed within 28 days.
This is because the person's detention, where it is valid, will lapse after 28 days unless it is renewed by a consultant psychiatrist. The renewal must then be reviewed by the tribunal. The patient does not have to seek the review - it will happen automatically.
Mr Logue said this was a particularly welcome provision of the Bill.
The tribunal will consist of a lawyer and a consultant psychiatrist. It will have the power to call witnesses and to hear oral evidence. The patient will have the right to put his or her case to the tribunal in person or through a legal representative. The legal representation will be provided free by the mental health commission, as will an independent assessment by a consultant psychiatrist.
Schizophrenia Ireland welcomed the announcement but said it hoped the commission would be independent of the Department of Health and Children and that people appealing their detention would be provided with "an advocate or personal representative".
There were 26,656 admissions to psychiatric centres in 1996, about 11 per cent against the will of the patient.
The new legislation will bring Irish mental health law into line with the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.