The Court of Appeal has upheld a Mental Health (Criminal Law) Review Board decision continuing the detention of an anonymised man, D.K., in the Central Mental Hospital.
D.K.'s case arose after he set fire to premises in Carlow on October 31, 2016. He was charged with burglary, criminal damage and arson. A Circuit Court jury returned special verdicts of not guilty by reason of insanity on all charges in May 2019. In December 2019, the Circuit Court committed him to the Central Mental Hospital after finding that he was suffering from a mental disorder and needed inpatient care or treatment.
His detention is reviewed at least every six months. At his eleventh review, held in June 2024, his treating consultant psychiatrist reported that he suffered from schizophrenia and continued to have dynamic risk factors for future violence and outstanding treatment needs. She recommended continued detention.
The Review Board decided on June 20, 2024 that D.K. remained in need of inpatient treatment and should stay in the hospital. He sought judicial review, arguing that the Board had applied the wrong statutory test, failed to give adequate reasons and failed to engage with points raised at the hearing. The High Court rejected his case.
President of the Court of Appeal Ms Justice Costello upheld that decision. She held that a review under section 13 of the Criminal Law (Insanity) Act 2006 is forward-looking. The Board must decide whether the patient is still in need of inpatient treatment in the designated centre. It does not have to repeat the earlier judicial assessment of whether the person meets the statutory definition of mental disorder.
The court also held that the Board's reasons were adequate when read alongside the consultant psychiatrist's report, the hearing minutes and the wider review history.
Arguments concerning D.K.'s successful community placement in 2017, his description of the offences as victimless and a friend's concerns about assessment tools did not require separate findings. The appeal was dismissed, with costs left for a later hearing.