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Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 27 Jun 2000

Vol. 522 No. 2

Adjournment Debate. - Prison Suicides.

(Mayo): I thank the Chair for choosing this matter for the Adjournment. The death by hanging last Thursday of a 31 year old man in his cell at Wheatfield prison is a tragedy. It is a tragedy for the individual who, at 31 years, should have a long, natural life and for the young man's grieving family in their loss of a loved one.

The tragedy is put into proper perspective when one considers that while his offences, road traffic offences, must be taken seriously, they could not be classified in the serious criminal category. Yet the individual in question was so under pressure and emotionally disturbed that he felt compelled to make a calculated decision that there was nothing left to live for, that he could no longer cope with life, particularly prison life, and decided to end it.

There are questions to be asked and answered. Was the prisoner medically and psychiatrically examined when he was committed to prison? Was he categorised in the at risk category? Was he in receipt of medical psychiatric treatment? How often was the prisoner checked in his cell? At what time was he last checked on Thursday when he died? How long after the last check-up in his cell was it before the deceased was discovered?

There is a fundamental and core question and it is an essential one as regards the prison system. Should this individual have been serving a custodial sentence in the first place? Were his offences so serious in their nature that he could not have repaid whatever debt he owed society in a more productive and positive way. For example, could he have been, or should he not have been the subject of a community service order? Why do we not have a range of imaginative alternatives, particularly for non-serious custodial offences? We have the most expensive prison system in the world; it costs an average of £54,000 to keep a prisoner in jail for one year and we have more staff than prisoners. Yet we do not have a mission statement for what the prison system is supposed to achieve or deliver. The result is that the prison system is in chaos and it neither rehabilitates nor deters. Some prisoners get their first exposure to drugs in prison. Many prisons are infested with drugs and turn petty offenders into qualified criminals. It is a huge cesspool of hopelessness which drives individuals such as this unfortunate to ultimate despair and there seems to be no coherent strategy of rehabilitation to come to terms with the situation. The long promised Prisons Service Bill to establish a properly planned Prisons Service on a statutory basis has been put on the long finger again. Last year was a record year for prison suicide, as six inmates, including a woman prisoner, took their own lives, while already this year there have been three prison suicides. On 21 April an inmate was stabbed to death in Mountjoy Prison, while earlier in the year a prison officer was seriously injured when he was set upon and stabbed by inmates in Limerick Prison.

It is clear that there are major questions to answer about the management of Irish prisons. That has been evident for a long period, but those concerns have not been addressed adequately. The result is that people who should not die will continue to die.

Every death in custody is a tragedy for the family, relatives and friends of the deceased and for the Prisons Service. Many people are traumatised by such events but none more so than the immediate family. I extend my sincere sympathy and condolences to them at the outset.

The director general of the Irish prison service, who is responsible for all operational matters in relation to places of custody, has reported to me in this matter and provided the following details of this tragic death. The death occurred in Wheatfield Place of Detention last Thursday, 22 June 2000, at approximately 10 p.m. The person concerned had been sentenced on charges of assault and criminal damage to a motor vehicle to two terms of six months imprisonment in Mountjoy Prison, the sentences to run concurrently. He was transferred to Wheatfield Place of Detention on 12 April 2000 and was due for release with remission on the 18 August 2000.

This man was placed under special observation in Wheatfield; he was checked in his cell every 15 minutes from the beginning of his sentence. His medical history included psychiatric illnesses and he was seen by the psychiatric services in the prison at regular intervals since his arrival in Wheatfield, the last occasion being the day before his death. On the evening of 22 June, an officer spoke with him at 9.35 p.m. and he requested to speak to an assistant chief officer. The officer returned to him at 9.50 p.m. and informed him that the assistant chief officer would be with him soon. The assistant chief officer and a medical orderly reached the landing at 10 p.m. on routine rounds. They went to the man's cell at 10.05 p.m. When they opened the door to speak with him they found him slumped, in a seated position, at the window of the cell. His shoelaces were tied to the window catch and fashioned into a running noose. The officers immediately requested an ambulance and began cardiopulmonary resuscitation. They continued the resuscitation attempts until the arrival of the ambulance at 10.15 p.m. He was taken to Tallaght Hospital at 10.25 p.m. where he was pronounced dead at 10.45 p.m.

In accordance with normal practice, the Garda was informed and its inquiry began immediately. As is usual, this death will be the subject of a public inquiry in the form of a coroner's inquest. The circumstances of the death will also be examined by the suicide awareness group in Wheatfield. Members will be aware that there are long-standing procedures in place to prevent suicides in prison and many possible fatalities are prevented as a result of these procedures. Vigilance and care on the part of prison staff plays a vital role in preventing such deaths. In spite of our best efforts, we cannot escape the fact that where a person is determined to take his or her life the scope for prevention is limited. Suicide is not a completely preventable act in a free society or in a prison system which accords basic respect to the personal dignity of prisoners, for instance when using toilet or other facilities. The problem of suicide among troubled young men is well known and, sadly, this group are heavily represented in the offender and prison inmate population.

The National Steering Group on Deaths in Prison will examine the circumstances of this case and will advise both me and the director general of the prison service of any additional measures which it considers appropriate to prevent further deaths in custody. I recently agreed to implementing the recommendation of the steering group that in-cell televisions should be available to all categories of offenders to counteract boredom during long lock-up periods. Governors of all prisons where televisions have been put in cells are reporting much reduced incidents of prisoner self-harm as a direct result of this.

The director general has told me that he is fully committed to ensuring that all possible measures are in place to prevent deaths in our prisons. High support facilities are to be included in the new prisons and the provision of such facilities will also be examined in the context of the refurbishment of Mountjoy Prison. The establishment a pilot listening scheme in our prisons is also under examination. The Irish prison service has also established a national steering group on drug treatment for prisoners which the prisons' director general is chairing. Recruitment of extra staff for the probation and welfare and psychology services is also taking place. The psychiatric service for prisoners is being examined as part of the multi-disciplinary review of the structure and organisation of prison health care services. The preventative measures in place to deter suicides are under continuous review. A research project on self harm and suicide in the Irish prison system has been recently drawn up which will result in further proposals for preventive strategies in relation to both self harm and suicide in custodial settings.

I assure the House that the Irish prison service will continue to refine its existing policies and to improve its procedures aimed at suicide prevention. I am committed to the risk reduction approach and staff at every level of the organis ation will continue to do everything they can to prevent the occurrence of another tragic death in Wheatfield.

The Dáil adjourned at 11.08 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Wednesday, 28 June 2000.

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