Ms Suzy Byrne:

Absolutely. We provide advocacy for people currently before the courts and those who are on remand or who have been sentenced. We assist people with disabilities to access supports and services, communicate with legal professionals, participate in the courts process and undergo capacity assessments where there may be some query about their capacity to face charges. We are also involved with, work with and get referrals from the Probation Service, which works with people who are preparing to leave prison. Those people may have an acquired brain injury or mental health difficulty, or may be autistic or have an intellectual disability. They may need to engage with services in the community for the first time on their release from prison. Advocacy has a role there, too, in supporting people to have their wishes heard and to make decisions. We take inquiries and are regularly involved in supporting people.

We also have people who are detained in prison because there is nowhere else for them to go. That is also an issue we have seen emerge in our casework of late. There is a need to find appropriate supports for them in the community rather than sending them to prison.

I should also draw the attention of the committee to an advertisement that the Prison Service and the Department of justice are doing this week to scope the range of mental health and disability that is presenting in prison. It is something of which all parties involved are aware. The Prison Service, the Department, the Irish Penal Reform Trust and the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission have all been involved in highlighting this as an issue. It is something that NAS has brought to their attention through our casework.