In 2021, I delivered this conference presentation:
(with Maria Dempsey, Robert King and Bláthín Power, School of Applied Psychology, University College, Cork):
'Establishing Precedent? Peer assessment in interdisciplinary collaboration between Schools of Law and Applied Psychology',
Irish Association of Law Teachers annual conference, Cork, November 2021
This project was funded by
The School of Law, University College Cork, has developed a Mental Health Act, 2001 Toolkit in partnership with Mental Health Reform.
When people with mental health difficulties are admitted to mental health units, either on a voluntary or involuntary basis, it is vital that user-friendly, accessible, information is available regarding human rights. Access to this information is essential for people with mental health difficulties, their family members, advocates, supporters and carers. The Mental Health Act, 2001 Toolkit will be published on Mental Health Reform’s website and will include information on topics such as the following:
The Toolkit will be a vital means of empowerment, enabling people to become educated about their rights, so that they can exercise and claim those rights. This aids fuller realisation of rights provided by the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), the Irish Constitution, and other human rights documents.
The Toolkit was drafted in consultation with Mental Health Reform’s member organisations, through a series of online and in-person consultation meetings. The meetings were attended by a wide variety of people, including people with lived experience of mental health difficulties, family members, staff and supporters of organisations.
This project was funded by the Irish Research Council. The researcher was Darius Whelan and the Research Assistant was Claire Carroll. The co-ordinator from Mental Health Reform was Ber Grogan.
Read the Mental Health Act, 2001 Toolkit Here
Read the Mental Health Act, 2001 Toolkit Brochure Here
Download a PDF Version of the Mental Health Act, 2001 Toolkit Here
View the video of the Toolkit launch
#loveirishresearch
Patrick Daly & Darius Whelan, ‘Disability in employment equality law: A reappraisal of the reasonable accommodation duty and issues arising in its implementation’ (2021) 28 Maastricht Journal of European and Comparative Law 744. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1023263X211035268.
Here is the abstract:
Abstract
This article re-considers the special features of the disability ground in EU equality law and raises questions as to whether the EU’s Framework Equality Directive (Directive 2000/78) may be in need of fundamental reform. It argues that the ‘Competence Defence’ in the Directive could have been more strongly drafted, to prescribe more precisely the circumstances in which an individual may be found not to be competent to perform the post’s essential functions. In the absence of a unified EU approach regarding the activation of the reasonable accommodation duty and an employer’s knowledge as to disability or the need for reasonable accommodation, national positions are compared. A model whereby the provision for individuals with disabilities is carried out in a proactive as opposed to a reactive manner could reduce the need for the reasonable accommodation system. The possibility of increased state involvement in the provision of reasonable accommodation to employees has strong potential. It is proposed that the principle of Universal Design, as expressed in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, could be used to ensure that work environments are developed from the outset to be conducive to the needs of those with physical or psychosocial disabilities. The implications of such a major change are assessed.
The review is in (2021) 60 Howard Journal of Crime and Justice 607. See https://doi.org/10.1111/hojo.12456
Extract from the review:
"This is a fascinating book, providing rich insights into mental health homicide investigations. The author has undertaken a challenging task in applying Luhmann's systems theory to this field. The empirical work, in the form of the interviews, provides extra depth and a very high level of originality."
Darius Whelan, ‘Application of the Paternalism Principle to Constitutional Rights: Mental Health Case-Law in Ireland’ (2021) 28 European Journal of Health Law 223 https://doi.org/10.1163/15718093-bja10047
It's available in this Open Access version.
Here is the abstract:
The conference was "Terence MacSwiney, Cork Men’s Gaol, and the Political Hunger Strike, 1920-2020" and it was organised by the School of History.
My paper draws on themes discussed in this paper: Gautam Gulati, Darius Whelan, Eimear Spain, David Meagher & Colum Dunne, ‘Hunger Strikes in Prison: a Legal Perspective for Psychiatrists’ (2019) 36 Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine 55.
My slides for the paper are available here.
I have posted an article at The Conversation on this topic. 
