Mental Health and Capacity Committee, Dublin Solicitors Bar Association and Irish Mental Health Lawyers Association.

Mental Health Act, 2001 - Review, Updates and Future

27 June 2017, Law Society of Ireland, Blackhall Place, Dublin

This seminar was chaired by The Hon. Mr. Justice Gerard Hogan

Slides and Documents

Slides: ‘Future Directions in Irish Mental Health Law’
Professor Mary Donnelly, School of Law, University College Cork

Slides: 'A.B. v Clinical Director of St. Loman's Hospital'
Mr Michael Lynn, S.C.

Document: ‘Some Notes on our Mental Health Laws’
Mr Niall Nolan, Barrister

Slides: ‘Mental Health Act 2001 ‐ 10 years from 1 Nov 2006’
Ms Orla Keane, Head of Legal Services, Mental Health Commission

SPEAKERS

Professor Mary Donnelly UCC
Mary Donnelly is a Professor of Law at University College Cork and researches in the fields of mental capacity/mental health/health law. Her books include Healthcare Decision-Making and the Law: Autonomy, Capacity and the Limits of Liberalism (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010) and she is co-author of End-of-Life Care: Ethics and Law (Cork University Press, 2011) and co-editor of Ethical and Legal Debates in Irish Healthcare: Confronting Complexities (Manchester University Press, 2016). She was a member of the Expert Group to review the Mental Health Act 2001 (2013-2015) and is a member of the Health Service Executive National Consent Advisory Group/Assisted Decision Making Steering Group and the Ministerial Working Group to develop a draft Code of Practice on Advance Healthcare Directives and she is Chair of the Technical Expert Group to develop Codes of Practice under the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015.

Michael Lynn SC
Michael Lynn SC is a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin. He practices in civil and criminal law, and has a particular interest in human rights. Among the cases in which he represented applicants this year are: T.R. v. Clinical Director of St. Loman’s, in which part of the Mental Health Act 2001 was declared to be incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights; Sinnott v. Minister for the Environment, in which the applicant, a man with a visual impairment, successfully challenged the government’s failure to provide technical assistance enabling him to vote secretly; N.H.V. v. Minister for Justice, in which the Supreme Court held that the absolute prohibition on refugee applicants seeking employment was contrary to the Constitution; Lawlor and Cadwell v. Minister for Justice, in which two women who worked in the Magdalene laundries as schoolchildren successfully challenged decisions excluding them from the redress scheme; and Secular Schools Ltd. v. Minister for Education, in which Secular Schools successfully challenged the procedure by which its application for patronage of a new school in County Cork was dismissed.”

Niall Nolan BL
Niall is a barrister practising in the areas of criminal law, mental health law and Judicial Review. He is a member of the Bar of Ireland's Human Rights Committee, was a member of Judge Brian Cregan's Review Group which looked at how the Barrister at Law degree course could be updated and improved and is the Irish Member of the Advisory Council to the European Commission project "My lawyer, My rights", which project is designed to advance the rights of children involved in criminal proceedings in the EU."

Orla Keane Solicitor
Orla Keane has recently been appointed Head of Legal Services to the Mental Health Commission. She is 21 years qualified. She has practised in the area of healthcare for over 15 years. She has acted for a number of public (SCA, HSE, MHC and IBTS) and private clients during that period which has included both contentious and non-contentious work. The work includes advice on corporate governance, advice on statutory interpretation, drafting and advising on policies and procedures, advising on the establishment of reviews, advising independent review teams, acting in statutory and non-statutory inquiries, advising and acting in judicial review applications and defending clinical negligence claims / complaints to professional bodies. Orla is a qualified mediator since 2007. She has done Diplomas in both Employment Law and Corporate Governance. She has lectured / tutored in the Law Society and has lectured on healthcare for a number of clients.

Seminar Brochure