Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 July 2023
52. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Justice what plans are in place to address the long waiting-list for people in prison to access psychology services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33990/23]
View answerMental health and addiction issues are all too common in the prison population. Information I received from the Department of Justice indicates there are 2,259 people in prison waiting up to two and a half years for mental health treatment. What plans are in place to address the long waiting lists for people in prison to access psychology services?
I thank the Deputy for raising the important matter of prison access to psychology services. As he pointed out, a significant number of people committed to prison have mental health issues. I assure him I am aware that if we address these issues, we can help to break the cycle of offending.
The programme for Government commits to considering the mental health and addiction treatments of persons in prisons and the primary care support provided on release. The Deputy will be aware that the report of the high-level task force considering the mental health and addiction challenges of people interacting with the criminal justice system was published last August by the Minister, Deputy McEntee, and the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly. The recommendations made by the task force aim to ensure better support for people at the earliest point at which they come into contact with the criminal justice system. They build on existing best practice to ensure there is adequate provision of services and sufficient safeguards in place to support rehabilitation and through care from custody to the community. A progress report will be prepared in quarter 4 of this year.
In addition, the report on the health needs assessment for the Irish Prison Service, which is the first comprehensive health assessment undertaken for the service, was considered by the Government and published in May. Taken together, these important and comprehensive pieces of work represent a coherent and all-of-system approach to addressing offender behaviour, providing rehabilitative and mental health supports and managing the prison population in a considered and planned way.
Separately and highlighting the important and diverse range of work in prisons, I advise the Deputy that, with the aim of supporting prisoner rehabilitation and access to employment post release, the prisoner education task force was established on 23 May 2023 and is jointly chaired by me and the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Harris.
Further, both I and the Minister, Deputy McEntee, are committed to ensuring the Prison Service has the resources needed to implement the required changes. The core work of the Prison Service psychology service is to address the mental health and offence-related needs of those in prison. In budget 2023, additional dedicated funding of €970,000 was secured to bolster the number of psychologists employed by the Prison Service. I have been advised by the service that it has the ability to recruit the following new psychology posts from the funding provided: one principal specialist psychologist; two whole-time equivalent senior psychologists; and 6.6 whole-time equivalent staff grade psychologists.
There is a high rate of recidivism among people who leave the prison system. Although I agree with the Minister of State that we need to break the cycle, we need to put treatment plans in place for people while they are in prison. Mental health and addiction are always problematic and prominent. It is imperative that people get the help they need while they are in prison. It would lead to less reoffending and would benefit society in general.
I referred to 2,259 people awaiting treatment in prison but I will also provide the waiting lists for some individual prisons. At the training unit in Mountjoy, which you would think would be a priority, there are 53 prisoners waiting 893 days, on average, for an appointment with a psychologist. In the Midlands Prison, there are 516 prisoners waiting 645 days, on average. In Mountjoy, there are 314 prisoners waiting an average of 610 days. In Castlerea Prison, there are 158 prisoners waiting 515 days and in Wheatfield Prison there are 260 prisoners waiting 432 days. These statistics are unacceptable. It is a captive audience, excuse the pun, when people are in prison. They can get the help they need while they are in there. If they do not, it will lead to more reoffending. Does the Minister of State accept these numbers are unacceptable?
I agree that the numbers are unacceptable. That is why we are determined to get them down. Competitions for principal, senior and staff grade psychologists are under way, with a closing date for applications of Friday, 4 August 2023. It is envisaged that recruitment will be completed and assignments made to existing and new vacancies by the end of 2023.
The prison psychology service provides an integrated service to people in custody and is responsible for mental health and criminogenic offence-related assessments and interventions. The Prison Service psychologists are qualified mental health practitioners and the largest body of mental health professionals employed directly by the Prison Service. The total number of staff currently assigned to the psychology service is a head of service, a principal psychologist manager, two principal specialist psychologists, 13 senior psychologists, 22.6 psychologists and 14 assistant psychologists. As I stated, a recruitment process is ongoing as well.
In the context of referrals into psychology, people in prison are suffering from a multitude of conditions, including mood and anxiety disorder, neurotic and stress-related disorders, disorders of personality and behaviour, complex and other post-traumatic stress disorder, self-harm, suicidal behaviour, substance use, eating disorders, psychosis, schizophrenia, addiction, dementia, cognitive decline, traumatic brain injuries, impulse disorders and disorders of sexual preference. There is a multitude of issues for people in prison. I cannot understand why people in prison have been waiting 893 days, or two and a half years, for these complex issues to be addressed. I know there is a recruitment process in place but more urgency is needed, otherwise we will have the revolving door of people going into prison, reoffending after release and then going back into prison. We need to put services in place for them while they are in there.
It is worth noting that the increased staffing in prisons of one additional psychologist has allowed the Prison Service to do more group sessions in 2022. An additional 1,842 group sessions were held in 2022 compared with 2021. Consequently, I believe the additional recruitment that is ongoing will provide significant help.
In working to reduce waiting lists for psychology interventions, the Irish Prison Service psychology service is proactively reducing the time spent doing assessment and, in turn, increasing the amount of time allocated to interventions. This includes the fast-tracking of prisoners into certain interventions directly from referral based on file review and consultation with a multidisciplinary team. In addition, the Prison Service is increasing the number of group sessions rather than individual sessions. This will allow the psychology service to engage with a greater number of clients. Previously, group sessions were closed, meaning that once the membership of the group was established, it was not open to new members to join. The Prison Service has now introduced rolling groups that allow for new members to join and this will improve access to psychology therapy. Further developments are being introduced by the Irish Prison Service psychology service. I agree with the Deputy. The waiting times are too long but we are attempting to reduce them.
