Re Farrell (Deceased)

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Judge: ???query???O'keeth p.???
• Judgment Date: 03 April 1967
• Neutral Citation: 1965 WJSC-HC 3447
• Date: 03 April 1967
• Court: High Court

1965 WJSC-HC 3447

Farrell (Deceased), In Re

MARY ANNE FARRELL, Deceased.

???query???O'keeth p.???

1 This is an application for liberty to apply fox and obtain a grant of letters of Administration to the estate of the above named deceased and is brought by Anthony John Stokes who is the secretary of the Carlow-Kildare Mental Health Board. The application is brought under section 12 of the Administration of Estate Act1959now replaced by section 27 of the Succession Act1965. (It was originally stated to be under section 78 of the of Court of Probate (Ireland) Act 1857 but this was an obvious mistake which is of no importance).

2 The deceased was for many years a patient in St. Dympna's Hospital Carlow which is under the control of the said Mental Health Board and the Board claims to be a creditor of her estate in the sum of £952. 10.0 for her maintenance during the period from 19th January 1960fto 18th January 1966 when she died. It appears that the deceased made no payments to the Board for her maintenance during the said period. Her only assets are the sum of £371.17.6 disability benefit accrued due to her and held by the Minister for Social Welfare.

3 A letter from the Department of Social Welfare indicates that during the lifetime of the deceased 30 shillings per month, part of her disability benefit was paid for extra comforts for her and the balance of the benefit accrued to her credit in the hands of the Minister. After her death the Deputy Manager for the Carlow-Kildare Mental Health Board purported to fix a charge of ten shillings a day for mental hospital assistance given to the deceased during the period above mentioned and nominated the applicant to apply for Letters of Administration as nominee of the said Board in order to recover so much of the amount said to be due as was available in the form of the accrued benefit held by the Minister.

4 In fixing the charge the Deputy Manager purposed to act under section 231A of the Mental Treatment Act1945(inserted into that Act by section 71 of the Health Act1953). That section reads as follows:

5 2 "231 A - (l) Where a Person has received mental hospital assistance and it is ascertained that he was not a chargeable patient the mental hospital authority may charge for the assistance Urn charge approved of or directed by the Minister.

6 (2) Mental hospital assistance shall be given without charge to the person specified in sub-section (2) of suction 14 of the Health Act1953and to such other persons, being chargeable patients at may be determined by the Mental hospital Authority.

7 (3)...