Ms F?ona N? Chinn?ide:

The Deputy raised an important issue regarding mental health needs and access to assessment by people who are before the courts on criminal justice matters. The committee is likely to be very familiar with statistics that tell us about the high prevalence of mental health issues among the prison population, but this was echoed in research undertaken by the Probation Service in 2021. It found that at least 40% of adults on a probation supervision order, compared with 8.5% of the general population, presented with symptoms indicative of one mental health problem, while 43% experienced active symptoms of mental health problems. We see again and again that there is a higher prevalence among women, comprising in the latter case 57% of women against 40% of men. A total of 10% experienced symptoms indicative of serious or severe and enduring mental health problems, while 56% had had some form of mental health assessment or intervention in the past. Again, that comprises 70% of women and 52% of men. Approximately half of the people supervised by the Probation Service in the community who had mental health problems also presented with one or more of either alcohol or drug misuse, difficult family relationships or accommodation instability. The Dublin homelessness unit within the Probation Service has a caseload of more than 500 today but that figure was in the region of 380 to 400 just a year ago, so the numbers are rising.

We welcome the attention given to that issue. We are also cognisant of the high-level task force on the mental health of people in criminal justice matters and we are forming part of the implementation of those recommendations.