Loophole closed to stop release of 200 mentally ill patients

Emergency legislation was tonight rushed through the Dáil and Seanad to plug a potential loophole in existing laws that could have seen more than 200 mentally ill patients walk free from psychiatric wards.

The Government had to act quickly because the High Court was due to deliver a judgement tomorrow on a legal challenge taken by a woman against her involuntary detention in a private hospital.