Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I want to follow on from some of the questions. My colleague, Deputy Ellis, mentioned that mental health issues in the prison population are four times the rate of those in the general population. There is also an estimate that one in three have an intellectual disability. The data are incomplete. The witnesses referenced data and said that better data collection is required. Information on mental health conditions in prisons was gathered between 2003 and 2005. That is 20 years ago. Why is that not done on an ongoing basis in order to assess the prison population? I know prisoners come and go, but there is probably a pattern overall in terms of the number of people involved.

On information around prison, is it provided in an accessible form? Do prisoners have access to reasonable accommodation, perhaps the use of an iPad for those who have dyslexia or reading or intellectual disability? Is that equipment provided for them?

The director general has said that, "At any one time, more than 2,000 people in custody are working with, or waiting to see a psychologist". I find it a bit alarming if that many people are waiting on an appointment to see a psychologist. Are psychologists employed, and health and social care staff employed, in every prison on a full-time basis? If not, are they brought in from the private sector if and when needed?

Many people with mental health difficulties commit a crime but often if they had received proper support in their communities they would not have committed the crime in the first place or they end up in the prison system because they are refused entry to a psychiatric unit. Recently members of a family contacted me about their family member who is in that very situation. They are extremely worried about him as he has refused contact with them and I do not know if anything can be done about the situation. He is an adult who has refused contact and his family have very little information about his health, which adds to their distress. His family have been informed that he is handcuffed most of the time, although they do not know if the information is reliable. I ask the delegation to comment on the use of restraints. I presume that a person cannot be handcuffed practically all the time. When a prisoner is violent is he or she isolated or what forms of restraint can be used?

I know it is not compulsory for prisoners to avail of educational courses but obviously education would be very beneficial. I know of many people who went into prison and turned their lives around because they availed of education. Are there ways to encourage people to avail of educational courses when in prison?