Mr. Fergal Black:

I will deal with these questions initially before handing over to Mr. Beirne. We train our recruited prison officers with specific pieces on anti-discrimination and the needs of minorities. We have introduced the ethnic identifier, which Ms Costello mentioned earlier. We did a collaborative training programme for staff involved in a census trying to identify properly the number of Travellers within the prison system. Our colleagues in Pavee Point assisted us in that respect. Mr. Beirne might give a broader indication of the training around diversity and anti-discrimination.

Mental health issues are probably the single biggest challenge we have had over the past five years or the past decade. The issue is well rehearsed at this stage. There is a disproportionate number of people coming into custody suffering from severe and enduring mental illness. It is a challenge for us and our staff to manage that problem. We have the services of the National Forensic Mental Health Service based within the Central Mental Hospital and it visits almost all our closed prisons. Taking somewhere like Cloverhill, our main remand setting, we have a full team from the National Forensic Mental Health Service there but there is a major demand on services. Some of these people should not be in custody but in a therapeutic environment instead, receiving appropriate care. It is for that reason the four Ministers set up the task force. I am hopeful that task force will identify appropriate therapeutic locations for people in that position, particularly where they have committed minor offences but have a major mental illness.

There was a question about short sentences. Waiting lists are not based on when a prisoner has come in but rather clinical need. A prisoner could have come in yesterday, but if the clinical need is there, such as if the prisoner is floridly psychotic, that prisoner will be dealt with as a priority by both our healthcare team and the national forensic team. As the Deputy knows well, there is a major problem with securing admission to the Central Mental Hospital. I hope the new facility will provide some degree of comfort, but I believe it could be more of a honeymoon than a solution.

The Deputy asked about the equine centre, and the idea came from Mr. Jonathan Irwin, who was involved with the racing industry and the Jack & Jill Foundation. We approached a former Minister about the success of such a programme in other jurisdictions, such as Maryland in the United States and in Australia. Ultimately, we challenged the horse racing community, saying that if it fundraised to support the operation of the programme, we would build the facility. As I mentioned, it has fundraised €120,000 and it is now developing a five-year plan because it wants to sustain funding and continue the collaboration. It is open to all prisoners in all prisons.

To clarify, Castlerea is a closed prison so the prisoners come from the prison every day. They are selected based on behaviour etc. There is a group of prisoners from the prison who care for the horses and do modules on care of horses in the education unit. We have had Mr. Aidan O'Brien, Mr. Robert Hall and other horse racing personalities down there. In fairness, if they follow through, people from the horse racing industry can be very supportive. They have indicated that suitable people coming through the programme would be offered employment in the horse racing industry. If I am to be honest, they would probably start as stable hands but we see it as an opportunity. Currently, most stable hands come in from places like Brazil, so if there is an opportunity, it would be great. I am hopeful the Minister on her return to office will officially open the facility and we will have a five-year plan working with the horse racing industry into the future.

Addiction is still a major challenge in prisons. We have our own healthcare services, including GPs, and we have managed to recruit seven permanent GPs this year. We have GPs with a special interest in problems arising from substance misuse. We have a contract with Merchants Quay Ireland, which provides addiction counselling. Could we do more? Absolutely. The task force is considering the question of addiction to see how we might develop further. We have some work done but we have more to do. Mr. Beirne might quickly speak to the training of staff and anti-discrimination measures.