Mr. Michael Donnellan:

The training unit was state of the art 20 years ago, but it is no longer state of the art. It is the only facility on the Mountjoy campus that does not have in-cell sanitation. Every other cell in Mountjoy has in-cell sanitation. Time has moved on. The training unit was in its heyday when Mountjoy was very poor in terms of accommodation and in-cell sanitation so we find it quite difficult to get people to go to the training unit because the conditions in Mountjoy or the Midlands Prison are far superior. What we must do is move on and look at what accommodation we have and how we are going to re-purpose it. If members have ever visited the training unit, they will know that it is a very low-rise, sprawling building. We think it would make an ideal facility for older people. That is the issue regarding the training unit.

The Red Cross and the Samaritans listener scheme are so important to the Irish Prison Service and do phenomenal work. The support we get from the Samaritans and the International Red Cross is phenomenal. The media keeps a focus on prison and we are always judged on our last mistake. We do 99 good things every day but if we make one mistake, we will always get into the newspapers for it. That is the reality of prison life and I do not think I can change that but we just have to tell it as it is, try to be honest and put our hands up when we get it wrong. From time to time, we get it wrong so we have to say when we get it wrong and be honest with the media and change the narrative.

Deputy Clare Daly and this committee can also change the narrative regarding how we deal with offenders. If we deal better with offenders, we will have fewer victims. We will have fewer victims if we pull in these people and try to support and help them.

The mental health training is absolutely fundamental. It is a very detailed programme that has been worked out by psychology, psychiatry and our prison staff. People very much enjoy it and we need to do it more.

Drugs continue to be an issue, and we have addressed that. In 1950, there were 30,000 people in mental health hospitals. Today, are there 1,100?