The High Court has found that a man detained in the Central Mental Hospital should have his aunt appointed as committee of his person and estate, once she returns to live in Ireland. The precise timing and form of the appointment remain to be settled by the parties and submitted to the registrar.
In a judgment delivered on 17 January 2022, Ms Justice Niamh Hyland said Ms K was suitable to take on the role. The General Solicitor, currently the committee, had opposed sharing the role with family members, while the Central Mental Hospital (CMH) opposed replacing the General Solicitor with a family member.
The judge said there should be a strong presumption in favour of appointing a willing family member unless compelling reasons existed against it. She found the family’s disagreement with the CMH about treatment did not make Ms K unsuitable. The court, rather than the committee, remains responsible for substantive decisions about the ward’s life, and is not bound to follow the committee’s views.
Ms K was living in Mexico at the time of the judgment and expected to return at the end of March 2022. The judge said the appointment would take effect only when she returned to live in Ireland, as it would be unsatisfactory for the committee to live permanently abroad. If she later proposed to live abroad again, a different committee would have to be appointed.
The judge proposed retaining Hilda Clare O’Shea, an independent solicitor who had visited the man and reported to the court, subject to any views the parties wished to make after receiving the judgment. The parties were directed to liaise on the precise order and send an agreed draft to the registrar. No order for costs was made, and the parties have liberty to apply.
The judgment also reviewed the man’s detention and other concerns raised by his family. The court found no basis to conclude that his treating consultant, placement in Unit B, or medication regime was not in his best interests. The CMH was asked to propose ways a visit to the graves of deceased relatives might be safely facilitated, for consideration at the next review. The judge did not direct that a visit take place.
The man, referred to as Mr M, has schizophrenia and a significant learning difficulty. He was transferred from prison to the CMH in 2017 and was made a ward of court in March 2021, when the High Court ordered his detention there. This judgment addressed the committee appointment and issues raised at the six-monthly review; it did not end the detention order.