Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left) | Oireachtas source

We need to adopt the slogan "Care not custody" as an absolute principle in terms of our social policy. People with mental health problems do not belong in our prisons, yet successive research has shown that people with a mental illness are greatly over-represented in our prison population. Almost 8% of male remand prisoners have current or recent psychotic symptoms, which is way out of kilter with the rest of the population. The evidence shows that large numbers of these people could have been accommodated in a local mental health facility if the correct policies were in place.

We know from research undertaken that large numbers of mentally ill prisoners have been in touch with social services as children. Many of them were in touch with the juvenile system and many of the women were victims of abuse. Early intervention and assistance, as an alternative to imprisonment, have got to be examined. We are far out of kilter in that regard. We have one specialist forensic mental health facility. I know that the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, has previously pledged to deal with regional ones to take people out of the criminal justice system, but it is not happening and so it is not working.

It is a question of resources. When such people end up in prison, we discover that our prisons are not equipped to deal with what are, in essence, health problems. Mental health is a very serious problem. Some Deputies met the family of a young man from Derry who was on suicide watch in Maghaberry Prison less than four weeks ago. He first cut his throat, then his testicles and finally gouging his eyes out, thus blinding himself. That was on the third night in a prison where he was supposedly being watched. Too often, prisoners' behaviour is treated as a punishment or not understood for what it is, so they do not get the proper care and attention.

People with mental health issues do not belong in prison. We need to address this issue, and I appeal to the Minister of State to do so.

See this speech in context