Two released from Central Mental Hospital after 44 years 

Patients are sent to the Central Mental Hospital arising from court decision that they are either unfit to stand trial or have been found not guilty of an offence by reason of insanity. Picture: Courtpix

Two people were discharged from the Central Mental Hospital (CMH) last year after being detained there for an average of 44 years, according to an official report.

They are thought to be among the longest durations of detention at the country’s only secure forensic institution, certainly in recent years.

It is more than 12 years longer than the last longest discharges from the Dublin facility, which was in 2014.

The details are contained in the 2022 annual report of the Mental Health (Criminal Law) Review Board.

The board reviews the detention of patients who have been sent to the CMH arising from a decision by the courts that they are either unfit to stand trial or have been found not guilty of an offence by reason of insanity.

The board also has the power to direct the continued detention of patients or to order their conditional or unconditional discharge.

When coming to its decision, the board has to consider the welfare and safety of the patient and the public interest. It also reviews the detention of prisoners who have been transferred to a designated centre suffering from a mental disorder.

The 2022 report shows that a total of 82 people had their cases reviewed by the board last year.

A total of four people were granted conditional discharge and a further three were given unconditional discharge.

“The average duration of detention in the hospital for the conditionally discharged patients was 25 years,” the report said. “The two shortest durations averaged just over seven years and the two longest averaged 44 years.

It should be noted that the length of time a patient is detained in the hospital is neither a necessary nor a sufficient ground, in itself, for granting a conditional discharge.

The type of offences patients detained in the CMH in 2022 were charged with, or convicted of, included murder, attempted murder, manslaughter, and assault causing serious bodily harm.

Of the 82 patients whose detention was reviewed by the board, 34 had been charged with, or convicted of murder. The majority of the victims of this offence, or alleged offence, were a family member of the patient.

Nine patients were charged with, or convicted of, attempted murder/manslaughter/death by dangerous driving, and 24 patients were charged with, or convicted of, assault causing harm/serious bodily harm.

The previous executive director of the CMH, Professor Harry Kennedy, previously said some people in the hospital “will never leave”.