No option but to order man to Central Mental Hospital again despite lack of space, judge says

Psychiatric condition of Patrick Sibanyoni deteriorating in prison – but all beds in Portrane occupied A judge has said she will be forced to remake an order sending a mentally unwell man to the Central Mental Hospital even though the hospital has no place for him after it emerged it was not legally possible to release him from custody so he could be committed to hospital by gardaí.Judge Helen Boyle said both prosecution and defence were agreed that an order should be made again to have Patrick Sibanyoni of Dundanion Lodge, Blackrock, Cork, sent to the Central Mental Hospital for treatment because his psychiatric condition is deteriorating in prison.Sibanyoni, a native of Guyana, has been on remand at Cork Prison for the past eight months on 24 charges of causing criminal damage to property and cars in Mallow in May 2025, when it is alleged that he caused the damage while stripped naked.Boyle noted that the consultant psychiatrist attending Cork Prison, Prof Gautam Gulati, had assessed Sibanyoni as suffering from a psychotic illness, most likely schizophrenia, which is a mental disorder within the terms of the Mental Health Act 2001.READ MOREGalway man jailed for four months over online threats to kill Simon Harris and harm familyCourt orders postponement of Irishman Seamus Culleton’s deportation from US Yellow warnings extended to 17 counties as observatory saw rain every day so far in 2026Popular Dublin lunch spot to close after 25 yearsCentral Mental Hospital clinical director Dr Brenda Wright had told the judge on Monday that the reason the hospital was unable to accept Sibanyoni was that all 100 male beds and all 11 female beds at the hospital were occupied.She said that in addition to being at full capacity, the hospital had a waiting list of another 38 people awaiting admission – including eight in homicide cases who were deemed not fit to plead due to their mental condition. Sibanyoni could not be admitted ahead of them.On Tuesday at Cork Circuit Criminal Court defence counsel Donal O’Sullivan said he believed Boyle should remake her order as it was clear that his client was deteriorating after spending almost nine months on remand in prison and he needed in-patient treatment.He said it was clear to anyone in court that Sibanyoni, who has been talking quietly to himself throughout all court appearances, was not mentally fit to plead under the terms of the Mental Health Act 2001. “He is not a man in his right mind,” said O’Sullivan.[ Detective printed off undisclosed Pulse documents for long-term partner’s court caseOpens in new window ]Prosecution barrister Imelda Kelly said the Director of Public Prosecutions was in agreement with the defence that the judge should remake her order committing Sibanyoni to the Central Mental Hospital as there was no other option available to her.She said the DPP did not believe there was any legal basis for An Garda Síochána to commit Sibanyoni to an acute psychiatric facility under Section 12 of the Mental Health Act if the court chose to release him on unconditional bail from custody.Boyle said that while she understood “the practicalities and exigencies” of the situation facing the Central Mental Hospital, she would be left with no alternative but to remake her order directing Sibanyoni to be sent to the hospital. She adjourned the matter until Thursday.