asked the Minister for Justice if he is aware that there is no psychiatric unit for the treatment of juveniles in St. Patrick's Institution; and that in a recent court case the judge was compelled to commit a juvenile to Mountjoy jail because he could receive psychiatric treatment there which would not be available to him in St. Patrick's; and if he will take steps to set up a proper system of psychiatric treatment in St. Patrick's Institution.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Psychiatric Treatment for Juveniles.
69.
I am glad to say that the Deputy seems to have been misinformed about the position.
A qualified psychiatrist is medical officer of both Mountjoy Prison and St. Patrick's Institution. He is assisted in his work in the Institution by three medical orderlies who have received training in both general and psychiatric nursing. In addition to the services provided within the Institution my Department have established a liaison between St. Patrick's and St. Brendan's Mental Hospital and the services of the Chief Psychiatrist there and his staff are available as required for consultation or to provide specialised treatment.
Is the Minister aware that a judge stated in court that he was committing a 16 year old youth to Mountjoy because the psychiatric facilities were not available in St. Patrick's Institution to afford him the necessary treatment?
Judges are human too.
Is the Minister saying that the judge should not have acted in this way and has he taken any action to see that the boy was detained, rightly, in St. Patrick's and not in Mountjoy?
All I can say is that every facility is available in every institution for treating cases as mentioned by the Deputy.
Is the Minister for Justice stating that the youth was detained wrongfully in Mountjoy instead of the proper institution?
I know the particular case concerned. I have looked into it and this particular youth got every psychiatric and medical aid necessary for his assistance.
And where was he detained?
That is an irrelevancy in this case. In fact, I do not think the Deputy is doing this particular person any good at all——
That one has been played out by the Minister for Justice; the Minister has pulled that three or four times here.
——and the Deputy is personally aware of a number of cases.
It is a deplorable situation when a Minister for Justice——
Deputy Cluskey is well aware of what I am talking about.