Dan Neville (Limerick West, Fine Gael)

Maybe the Minister would consider the idea of special psychiatric courts for people with mental illnesses. Many prisoners are imprisoned for petty crimes. Alternatives to prison might involve a detailed psychiatric programme to address their psychiatric problems. We have examined this service in other countries. It would be a means of getting at the problem prior to imprisoning those people. It is accepted that in prison, the psychiatric condition deteriorates substantially because of confinement. We must have realistic programmes.

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