20th February 2024
A report released today by the Office of the Inspector of Prisons (OIP) highlights that mental health care needs are not being fully or satisfactorily met in any of the seven prisons it inspected in February and March 2023, with conditions repeatedly being described as “degrading”.
The Office of Inspector of Prisons (OIP) Thematic Inspection: An Evaluation of the Provision of Psychiatric Care in the Irish Prison System February – March 2023, which was submitted to the Minister of Justice, Helen McEntee in August 2023, was published today alongside a supporting Irish Prison Service Action Plan to implement the recommendations.
Reacting to the report, IPRT Executive Director, Saoirse Brady, said it makes for a sobering read stating:
“As mental healthcare in the community fails people who need treatment, what we’re seeing is people with high-level healthcare needs inappropriately being placed in prison as supports and care are not available in the community...
Not only is it adding to record levels of overcrowding in prison, but it is also compounding the issues faced by the prison system - from overstretched staff, people placed in overcrowded cells in unacceptable conditions, and pressures in accessing support services and healthcare.
There is a lack of opportunities to divert those who clearly need care in the community or a hospital away from the criminal justice system. People with low levels of offending are being refused treatment in hospitals which would be a more appropriate response. Swift action must be taken to address this. However, the Department of Justice cannot address all of these issues alone, the Department of Health has a clear and important role to play in addressing the unacceptable treatment of people with mental health issues who end up in the prison system."
An excerpt from the report reads “One psychiatrist described frustrations, stating “psychiatric hospitals can refuse to take people, we in prison cannot”, another said, “the courts just send mentally disordered offenders to prison, as they just don’t know what else to do”, and a senior prison manager said, “prison is the place of last resort, except for women, then it is the place of first resort”
Saoirse Brady went on to say:
"The Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) will carry out a formal visit to Ireland again this year to assess how persons deprived of their liberty are treated. In 2019, the CPT outlined its concerns around people with mental health illnesses and the conditions in which they were detained including people sleeping on mattresses in cells. The report released today indicates that they are going to find a severe deterioration in conditions with the OIP describing conditions in certain prisons as “degrading”. The doubling and tripling up in cells is already alarming but for people who are in distress this must be devastating and distressing. The conditions described in Limerick prison, for example, where people have to step over each other to use the toilet with barely any room to stand is deplorable.
It is clear, that we are falling far short of our international human rights obligations for people in custody. IPRT commends the Inspector of Prisons for shining a light on what is happening behind the high prison walls. We also recognise that resource implications and staffing shortages have a direct impact on the services that can be delivered. Really, we need to question why so many people with psychosocial disabilities and mental health needs are ending up in our prisons and make the necessary legislative and policy changes to ensure that prison is no longer the default option."
Last week, the Department of Justice and the Department of Health published the first annual progress report of the High Level Taskforce on Mental Health and Addiction. The establishment of the High Level Taskforce was one of IPRT's key asks that was included in the Programme for Government and its final report makes pragmatic recommendations to address many of the issues highlighted in today’s report.
ENDS
For all media enquiries, contact IPRT Communications Officer, Michelle Byrne: 086 043 3060 or communications@iprt.ie.
NOTES FOR EDITOR:
Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) is Ireland's leading non-governmental organisation campaigning for the rights of everyone in prison and the progressive reform of Irish penal policy.
In 2022, IPRT published a report, Access to Rights for People Detained in Secure Forensic Mental Health Facilities in Ireland, examining how the human rights of individuals are met before, during and after a period in secure forensic mental health facilities, including their transition between prisons and designated centres, and the specific challenges they come up against.
Respect for rights in the penal system with prison as a last resort.