The Supreme Court has clarified the law on the nature of the assessment to be carried out when patients involuntarily detained under the Mental Health Act appeal their detention to the Circuit Court

A man who stabbed his mother 10 times with a kitchen knife was released earlier from a mental hospital against the wishes of the medical team that was treating him for paranoia and psychosis, a court has heard.

A man stabbed his mother 10 times with a kitchen knife and then kicked her and beat her with a brush handle until it broke as she lay on the ground, the Central Criminal Court sitting in Castlebar heard yesterday.

Patients admitted against their will to psychiatric hospitals can have their cases independently reviewed from today.