Criminal trials being delayed by six months due to shortage of psychiatrists, solicitors say

Last month, Judge Helen Boyle told Cork District Court that courts were 'reaching paralysis' in dealing with cases that require psychiatric reports. Picture: Larry Cummins 

Criminal trials are being delayed by more than six months where psychiatric reports are required, according to solicitors, while the College of Psychiatrists says an additional 350 psychiatrists are needed by 2030.

Kerry-based solicitor Padraig O’Connell said a lag in getting psychiatric reports was creating a backlog.

“Where legal aid is assigned, for the purposes of a report, there is a lot of paperwork to be filled up by the psychiatrist for the purposes of getting the legal aid, and then filling up the appropriate report and getting it to the court. 

"Sometimes the accused is in custody with the recommendation of medical treatment but when they are in custody on remand, there is very little medical treatment afforded. If they are serving a sentence, there is more so."

There is a big delay in cases where fitness to plead are involved, he said.

"It has been building. We have a number of cases that are ongoing as a result. We are seeing considerable delays, more than six months.” 

The delays have been raised a number of times in recent months in courts around the country.

In January, the Central Criminal Court in Dublin heard of difficulties by lawyers in obtaining the service of psychiatrists, or a delay in receiving psychiatric reports for people accused of murder and serious sexual assault charges.

Last month, Judge Helen Boyle told Cork District Court that courts were “reaching paralysis” in dealing with cases that require psychiatric reports, after a case which had previously been adjourned several times had to be adjourned again because of the failure to get a psychiatrist’s report on an accused man.

She said people being remanded in custody who needed psychiatric assessment were not receiving it.

The court heard the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) was bringing in a psychiatrist from the UK.

President of the College of Psychiatrists Lorcan Martin said “the perennial underfunding and under-resourcing of mental health services in Ireland has, among other issues, led to an undersupply of psychiatric doctors, including forensic psychiatrists, whose input and expertise can be critically important for certain court cases”.

He said the undersupply “means that many doctors are overworked in their day jobs and in many cases do not have the time for the administrative and practical work that accompanies each caseload for the courts”.

“We also need 835 consultant psychiatrists by 2030, which would be an increase of approximately 350 based on current figures.” 

Cork solicitor Joseph Cuddigan says the issue is related to a lack of forensic psychiatrists in Ireland.

“You have so many cases such as the Camhs situation in Kerry where consultant psychiatrists are being retained in civil cases and then you have the ordinary High Court work in respect of post traumatic stress where they are being retained for those.” 

He said that left very little availability for criminal cases.

“It’s an impossibility — you cannot get them.” 

While acknowledging the prison psychiatric team in Cork was efficient, he said pressures on the Central Mental Hospital was also impacting cases.

“If you want a full psychiatric report, the person has to be sent up there but there are no beds available there.” 

The Irish Examiner reported last September that a third of beds at the 170-bed Central Mental Hospital in Portrane, which opened in November 2022, remained closed because of staffing issues — while 21 people were on the waiting list for a bed at the facility.