Garda murder accused said his mental health declined during Covid restrictions

Stephen Silver told a doctor that Covid 'destroyed everything' court heard

The trial jury also heard on Friday that in the hours after his arrest, Stephen Silver refused an assessment from a psychiatrist, who told the court Mr Silver showed 'no evidence of an active mental illness' when he assessed him. File picture: Michael McCormack/PA

Stephen Silver, who is accused of murdering a garda with his own gun, told a doctor his mental health began to decline while Covid restrictions were in place and Covid had "destroyed everything", the Central Criminal Court has heard.

Dr Greg Kelly agreed with Mr Silver's defence lawyers that psychiatric services were restricted because of Covid and that one of the most important aspects of psychiatric care is having face to face care.