A judge at the Central Criminal Court has expressed his sympathy to an “unfortunate” father who has attended court more than 13 times only to be told there is further delay in engaging a forensic psychiatrist to assess his wife, who is charged with the murder of their six-year-old son.
Mr Justice Paul McDermott said it is “completely unacceptable” that the State was not in a position to facilitate the trial process in securing psychiatric assessments within the State, but remarked that he could only express his frustration with this “inadequacy”.
The judge said he hoped the executive “will act” to provide the services and set up “a reliable structure” for psychiatric assessments to see whether a mental condition could have played a role in a defendant’s alleged offending.
Ruth Purcell Healy (37), of Bishops Field, Williamstown, Waterford, is charged with the murder of her six-year-old son Matthew Healy on February 9th, 2024. The child was found unresponsive at about midnight near Rathmoylan Cove, Dunmore East, and was later pronounced dead at University Hospital Waterford.
RM Block
Although psychiatric issues are explored in as many as 20 per cent of murder trials in Ireland, there is no legal obligation for HSE-employed psychiatrists to provide assessments for criminal cases. While the Central Mental Hospital has a panel of experienced forensic psychiatrists employed by the HSE, they are under no contractual obligation to provide reports for either prosecution or defence teams. Currently, there is no definitive panel of psychiatrists available to lawyers to conduct assessments.
Addressing Mr Justice McDermott – the judge overseeing the trial list at the Central Criminal Court – senior counsel Brendan Grehan, for the Director of Public Prosecutions, said despite the best efforts of his solicitor, the prosecution has been unable to attain the services of a consultant forensic psychiatrist in Ireland to prepare a psychiatric report on Ms Purcell Healy in response to a defence psychiatric report.
Counsel added: “That’s despite her [the solicitor] having contacted over 10 different psychiatrists and gotten a response from the interim director of the Central Mental Hospital, which is to the effect that it is not the contractual responsibility of psychiatrists working for the HSE to provide reports for State solicitors or the defence.”
Mr Grehan said Matthew Healy’s father had attended court “over 13 times” to date and was present again today. “I’ve spoken to him, it’s a very difficult situation for all involved, as we are rapidly approaching the second anniversary of the death of his young son,” said the barrister.
Ms Purcell Healy’s case was listed for mention on December 3rd next.
Last year, Mr Justice McDermott noted that psychiatrists at the Central Mental Hospital were often unavailable to carry out reports for the courts due to the “burden of work” placed on them by their day-to-day jobs.
Lawyers also complained that in some instances psychiatrists were unwilling to take on cases due to the low fees being offered by the Department of Justice. In many cases, lawyers have had to seek the services of psychiatrists in the UK and elsewhere due to the lack of available psychiatrists in Ireland.
