According to a study by the Office of the Inspector of Prisons (OIP), circumstances in each of the seven prisons it investigated for mental health care requirements are consistently referred to as “degrading,” and needs are not being fully or properly satisfied, reports RTE.
Two international forensic psychiatry specialists were part of the team that conducted the inspection in February and March of last year.
In seven of the State’s thirteen prisons, the quality of care was evaluated.
Four major flaws were found in the report: insufficient personnel, poor environmental conditions, insufficient treatment within the jail, and a severe absence of clinical care channels throughout the institution, reports RTE.
Additionally, according to the research, there seems to be “a long-standing under-resourcing of mental healthcare services for prisoners within prison and in HSE civil psychiatric hospital mental healthcare services”.
A report titled ‘OIP Thematic Inspection: An Evaluation of the Provision of Psychiatric Care in the Irish Prison System February – March 2023’ was submitted to Minister of Justice Helen McEntee in August 2023. It was published today along with an Action Plan for the Irish Prison Service (IPS) to put the recommendations into practice, reports RTE.
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