Lunacy (Ireland) Act 1821 ^[1]

Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act to make more effectual Provision for the Establishment of Asylums for the Lunatic Poor, and for the Custody of Insane Persons charged with Offences in Ireland.
Citation	1 & 2 Geo. 4. c. 33
Territorial extent	Ireland
Dates
Royal assent	28 May 1821
Repealed	30 December 2015
Other legislation
Repeals/revokes	Irish Lunatic Asylums for the Poor Act 1817
Amended by	Statute Law Revision Act 1873 Statute Law Revision Act 1888 Statute Law Revision Act 1890
Repealed by	Assisted Decision Making (Capacity) Act 2015
Status
Republic of Ireland	Repealed
Northern Ireland	Unknown

The Lunacy (Ireland) Act 1821 (1 & 2 Geo. 4. c. 33) formed the basis of mental health law in Ireland from 1821 until 2015.

Contents

• Background
• Provisions
• Subsequent legislation
• References

Background

Prior to the Lunacy (Ireland) Act 1821, there had been only limited progress with establishing specialist accommodation for the mentally ill in Ireland. The only such facilities were the Eglinton Asylum in Cork and the Richmond Asylum in Dublin. ^[2]

Provisions

The legislation authorised the appointment of a Commission of General Control and Correspondence to have oversight of asylums in Ireland. ^[3] It also gave powers to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland to establish and operate publicly funded "district asylums" across the island of Ireland. ^[4]

Subsequent legislation

Although the Lunacy Regulation (Ireland) Act 1871 made some changes relating to Commissioners in Lunacy, the management of the Estates of Lunatics and for the protection of the property of Lunatics in Ireland, ^[5] aspects of the legislation remained in force until repealed in the Republic of Ireland by the Assisted Decision Making (Capacity) Act 2015. ^{[6] [7]}

References