Mental Health

The High Court has determined that nasogastric feeding under restraint is not provided for under the Mental Health Act 2001 in circumstances where adequate safeguards are not provided for. Delivering judgment for the High Court, Mr Justice Conor Dignam was satisfied that "the legal effect of section

Major reforms to mental health legislation have cleared second stage in the Dáil. The 202-section Mental Health Bill 2024 will replace the existing Mental Health Act 2001.

The Mental Health Bill 2024, which will replace the existing Mental Health Acts 2001-2022, has been published. The lengthy bill now has 202 sections — up from the 197 sections announced last week due to "formatting/drafting changes made during the quality assurance process".

Major reforms to mental health legislation have been approved by ministers. The Mental Health Bill, to be published next week, will replace the existing Mental Health Acts 2001–2022 with the aim of providing a modern legal framework that will protect the rights of people with mental health dif

The Mental Health Commission (MHC) has invited lawyers to assist in the development of new guidance and training on a human rights-based approach to care for mental health services. The MHC has engaged the Munster Technological University and its UNESCO Chair research centre to support the developme

Mercy Law Resource Centre (MLRC) has called for changes to law and practice to tackle barriers that people with mental health difficulties face in accessing social housing and emergency accommodation. Mary Butler, the minister of state for mental health and older people, formally launched the law ce

An American judge who heads the country's first mental health court will deliver the Law Society of Ireland's annual human rights lecture this year. Judge Ginger Lerner-Wren is currently the presiding County Court judge of the Misdemeanor Mental Health Court of the 17th Judicial Circuit in Broward C

Delayed work to establish a dedicated mental health court in Northern Ireland will not resume until at least next year and possibly later, it has emerged. Scoping work on the pilot mental health court was "paused due to the Covid-19 pandemic", justice minister Naomi Long said earlier this month.

A long-awaited review into the care of vulnerable people in Northern Ireland's prisons has been completed and a report is due to be published next week. The review was first announced in 2016 after a series of deaths in custody and was subsequently passed in December 2018 to the Regulation and Quali

The government has approved the heads of a bill to make over 120 amendments to the Mental Health Act 2001, including strengthening provisions for consent to treatment. Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said: "The heads of bill introduce guiding principles for adults and children into the Act, to enha

The Law Society of Ireland has urged the government to finalise reforms to the Mental Health Act 2001, calling for 16- and 17-year-olds to have presumed capacity to consent. The Law Society has warned that continued delays to reform the Act means that “if a child actively resists detentio

Promoting good mental health is the focus of a new initiative being launched this week by the Law Society of Northern Ireland. The Society’s new Wellbeing Toolkit recognises the importance of promoting good mental health and providing support to help colleagues, their families and staff in the

A new government taskforce has been established to look at the mental health and addiction needs of prisoners both during and after their detention. Former minister Kathleen Lynch has been appointed as the independent chair of the high level taskforce, which will include representatives from a wide

Offenders on probation have "significant and unmet" mental health needs which must become a "priority area" for the Probation Service, a new report warns. The report – authored by Dr Christina Power, senior clinical psychologist at the Probation Service – was published this morning and m

A fresh public consultation on the ongoing review of the Mental Health Act 2001 has been launched in advance of new legislation. The 2001 Act has been under review since 2011 and a public consultation was held prior to the publication of an expert group report in 2015.