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The Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) commissioned researchers from the Centre for Disability Law and Policy to carry out a scoping study on access to rights for people detained in forensic mental health facilities in Ireland. This research was supported by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission under the Human Rights and Equality Grant Scheme 2021-2022. It was carried out by Dr Suzanne Doyle Guilloud, Eilís Ní Chaoimh, Maria Ní Fhlatharta and Prof. Eilionóir Flynn, with additional research support from Renee Payne. 

Eilís Ní Chaoimh

The report was launched in October 2022 and involved a literature review of Irish law and policy in the area, the identification of relevant research on these settings, and the applicability of international human rights law. The study also included interviews with stakeholders within the forensic mental health system. The project's limited scope prevented the research team from speaking directly with individuals detained in the Central Mental Hospital.

The study concluded that Ireland's ultimate objective in any process of law reform compliant with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) should work towards the abolition of the current forensic mental health system. However, recognising the challenges of abolition, the report includes 17 rights-based changes which could be made within the existing system to better align it with the requirements of the CRPD.

Prof. Flynn and Eilís Ní Chaoimh presented the findings of the report alongside Molly Joyce of the IPRT to the Oireachtas Joint Sub-Committee on Mental Health on 6 December 2022.