The Mental Health Act 1974 (Act no. 2/1974) repealed and replaced the Mental Health Act of 1962. This act was repealed and replaced in 2000 by the Mental Health Act 2000 (Act no. 16/2000).
The Mental Health Act 1974 had the full title: ‘An Act relating to the Treatment and Care of mentally ill persons and to their property and affairs; to amends the Prisons Act 1958 – 1969 in certain particulars and The Inebriates Institutions Acts 1896 to 1968 in a certain particular; and for connected purposes’ (Act no. 2/1974).
The Mental Health Act 1974 was extensive in reach and covered multiple aspects of the lives of people with a mental illness and their treatment. This included regulations on involuntary admission to institutions, the role of police and health care professionals, the treatment of people with a mental illness found guilty of crime and the property of persons with a mental illness.