A DISTRICT court judge requested the attendance of the governor of Cork prison at Skibbereen District Court to answer questions relating to a man who has been in custody since last August.
The request was made by Judge John King at a January sitting of Skibbereen District Court, but when the case was called on February 11th last a visiting judge – Judge Treasa Kelly – was presiding.
The governor of Cork Prison was not in attendance at the Skibbereen court, but the assistant governor Mr Paddy Boyce was.
The accused cannot be named because one of the charges against him relates to a family law matter – namely an allegation that he was in breach, on August 8th last, of a barring order that was made last April.
Skibbereen court presenter Sgt Tom Mulcahy also indicated that there may be charges against the accused that have yet to be determined by the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The man’s solicitor, Mr Flor Murphy, said his client has been in custody since last August. The solicitor cited 11 occasions – between September and January – when the matter was adjourned because no progress had been made in securing a psychiatrist’s report on his client’s ‘fitness to plead.’
At previous courts, some submissions were made that the accused might be suffering from dementia, and an appointment with a geriatrician is being sought.
The first request for a psychiatric report on the accused man’s fitness to plead was made by Judge James McNulty at Skibbereen District Court on September 10th last, but he has since retired.
In Skibbereen, on November 12th, a repeat request for a psychiatric report on the accused’s fitness to plead was requested by Judge John King.
And on December 6th, a report was sought from the Central Mental Hospital.
It was at the January 28th sitting that Judge John King made a request for the governor of Cork Prison to attend court on February 11th because the situation had become ‘urgent.’
At the recent sitting, Mr Murphy said a representative of the governor – namely the assistant governor, Mr Paddy Boyce – was in attendance.
Having considered some of the correspondence in the case, Judge Treasa Kelly noted one significant line which stated: ‘Following the usual primary care screening following committal, a referral can be made to the National Forensic Mental Health Service psychiatric prison inreach team by the prison GP if deemed clinically necessary.’
In short, the judge held: ‘It is up to the prison GP to organise that.’ Judge Kelly then adjourned the case – with the accused still remanded in custody – to the February 25th sitting of Skibbereen Court.
At that court, Mr Murphy said some progress had been made but the issue of attending the geriatrician is complicated by the fact that his client will need to have an MRI scan done in advance of that appointment.
At that point, the accused, who is still in custody, asked to address the court. He told Judge John King that he had been medically cleared – given a fitness to plead – by the appropriate medical staff at Cork University Hospital last July, and that an MRI had also been provided.
Judge King said he was satisfied that some progress is being made and that the accused’s appointment to see a geriatrician on March 10th next would advance matters.
The case has been listed for an update on March 11th next.
