Vol. 429 No. 3
105 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Justice if her attention has been drawn to the fact that there are prisoners in jail in Ireland that are misplaced as they are too mentally ill to be in jail; if her attention has further been drawn to the fact that the percentage of mentally ill prisoners in Irish prisons is double that in English prisons; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
107 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Justice if she will make a statement on a recent report undertaken by Dr. Charles Smith, Clinical Director of the Central Mental Hospital, that about 5 per cent of prison inmates are too mentally ill to be in jail; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 105 and 107 together.
The report arises from a study of a random selection of 152 persons on committal to custody to Mountjoy Prison over a recent period. Of those assessed, 7 or 4.6 per cent were found to have some form of psychotic illness. The report did not express a view as to whether these prisoners were too mentally ill to be in prison.
Persons in custody who are suffering from psychiatric illnesses are attended by psychiatrists from the local health boards. In the case of Dublin prisons, the service is provided by psychiatrists attached to the Central Mental Hospital, Dundrum. Most cases can be treated in the prisons by visiting psychiatrists on an out-patient basis but should in-patient treatment be required in any particular case — and this is a matter on which the prison authorities rely on medical advice — arrangements can be made for transfer to the Central Mental Hospital, Dundrum. My concern is to ensure that all prisoners who are psychiatrically ill receive treatment, whether out-patient or in-patient, appropriate to their condition and I have asked the Director of Prison Medical Services to keep the situation under review.
