Murder trials in Ireland experience delays due to voluntary, ad hoc psychiatric assessments.
Murder trials in Ireland face delays due to difficulties in obtaining psychiatric assessments for defendants. While 20% of murder trials involve psychiatric issues, HSE-employed psychiatrists have no legal obligation to provide assessments for criminal cases. The Central Mental Hospital has a panel of experienced forensic psychiatrists, but they are not contractually obligated to provide reports for either prosecution or defense teams. No definitive panel of psychiatrists is available for defense lawyers to conduct assessments, and the system has been operating on a voluntary, ad hoc basis for decades.
March 06, 2024
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