30th April 2001
This IPRT report reveals that mentally ill prisoners are regularly put into solitary confinement as a substitute for appropriate treatment. It concludes that the system is failing prisoners, particularly the mentally ill, and the prison staff who are left with little choice when faced with mentally ill prisoners.
The report calls for radical overhaul of the entire prison health system including the immediate establishment of suitable in-service psychiatric clinics and immediate replacement of the use of strip cells for mentally ill and suicidal prisoners with well-lit observation wards. It proposes community solutions to the criminalisation of the mentally ill in Ireland.
Respect for rights in the penal system with prison as a last resort.