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
Mental Health
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.
Most in-house lawyers in Ireland have experienced symptoms of burn-out, a new survey suggests. Over 170 in-house counsel were invited to reflect on their mental wellbeing at a recent William Fry CounselConnect virtual conference.
Employers have been urged to recognise the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on employees' mental health and ensure they have a robust mental health strategy and risk assessments in place. Ciara McLoughlin, head of employment for DLA Piper in Ireland, said the pandemic has exacerbated existing mental
DLA Piper has urged Irish employers to take a "proactive approach" to their employees' mental wellbeing as Ireland slowly begins reopening society and business. The global law firm has published a new report on mental health in the workplace, covering a range of topics including the legal aspects of
A first-of-its-kind case in Northern Ireland has highlighted a "legal lacuna" in respect of the release of offenders detained under mental health legislation, lawyers have said. Belfast-based Higgins Hollywood Deazley (HHD) Solicitors is involved in a case concerning an offender who was dealt with b