The Central Criminal Court has ruled that the man accused of assaulting a care worker and attempting to murder three children on Parnell Square in Dublin is fit to enter a plea and stand trial.
The court fixed a date of 8 June for the trial to go ahead.
The court heard expert evidence earlier this year in relation to 52-year-old Riad Bouchaker, who was charged with the offences in November 2023.
Mr Justice Tony Hunt said psychiatrists for the defence and for the prosecution both accepted Mr Bouchaker was suffering from a neuro-cognitive disorder arising from neurosurgery in 2021 and a subsequent traumatic brain injury in 2023.
But he said they differed on the effects of those deficits on Mr Bouchaker's fitness to plead.
The judge said the defence argued that Mr Bouchaker could not understand the nature of the charges, the roles in the courtroom or the choices he had in his plea and was unable to give coherent instructions.
The prosecution expert argued that the defence evidence was overstated. The prosecution psychiatrist relied heavily on Mr Bouchaker's interviews with gardaí in the aftermath of the events and said that with appropriate supports Mr Bouchaker was fit to stand trial.
Mr Justice Hunt said expert evidence did not automatically determine the outcome and psychiatry was not an exact science. He said the decision was ultimately a matter for the court with help from the experts.
The judge said he too had viewed the footage of Mr Bouchaker's garda interviews in an effort to "resolve the conundrum" of the conflict in psychiatric evidence.
The judge said it was a finely balanced case. However he said he found the evidence of the prosecution’s expert, grounded in his viewing of Mr Bouchaker's interviews with gardai, to be more persuasive.
He said Mr Bouchaker undoubtedly had cognitive limitations and accommodations would be necessary during a trial. But he said that did not equate to unfitness to stand trial. He said the defence had not proved on the balance of probabilities that Mr Bouchaker was not fit to plead.
The judge said his view was that Mr Bouchaker was "currently fit to stand trial" and the matter would be kept under review as the trial progressed.
Prosecuting counsel, Karl Finnegan, told the court the Director of Public Prosecutions was looking for the earliest possible trial date.
The court also heard an Arabic-speaking interpreter and intermediary would be needed for the trial, which could last over two weeks.
Mr Justice Hunt set a date of 8 June for the trial to proceed. The case will be mentioned in court again in May.
Mr Bouchaker is charged with the attempted murder of two girls and one boy as well as assault causing serious harm to a care worker.
He is also charged with three counts of assault causing harm to two other young children and a passerby as well as one count of the production of a knife.
The incident occurred at Parnell Street East on the afternoon of 23 November 2023.
