A solicitor for a man accused of murdering his landlord in Dublin has asked for all recordings of his interviews with gardai to be handed over.

Saverio Bellante (34), who is originally from Palermo in Sicily, is charged with the murder of Tom O'Gorman at Beechpark Avenue in Castleknock last weekend.

Mr. O'Gorman was found dead in his house in the early hours of Sunday morning. A post mortem revealed he'd been beaten and stabbed to death.

Mr. Bellante, who rented a room at Mr. O'Gorman's house, was arrested and charged with his murder.

After being medically assessed in custody, he was admitted to the Central Mental Hospital earlier this week.

He was due before Cloverhill District Court this morning - but a letter from his doctor excused his absence. The reasons for which were not read out in court.

Despite initially waiving his right to a lawyer, solicitor Michael Staines represented him today.

He requested all recordings and memos of his client's interviews with gardai to be made available to him as soon as possible.

Judge Victor Blake instructed the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to hand them over before January 29th.

Mr. Bellante's case will be mentioned again on January 31st.