Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, for taking the time to stay back at this late hour to take this Topical Issue matter. I commend the Mental Health Commission on its stark report, Access to Mental Health Services for People in the Criminal Justice System. When I first submitted this matter to the Ceann Comhairle, I was asked to clarify which Department it was going to. I was not sure if it would go to the Department of Health or the Department of Justice. Therefore, some of my questions and input will be related to the Department of Justice. This highlights the fact that there needs to be a cross-departmental approach when it comes to mental health. The Minister of State probably knows that better than anybody.

I attended the launch of the report, along with the Sinn Féin spokesperson on justice, Deputy Martin Kenny, last week. It is clear that what we have heard anecdotally over the years has been solidified in the report by the inspector of mental health services, Dr. Susan Finnerty. In fact, what is contained in this report is far more serious than any of us imagined. Those who commit crimes while acutely mentally ill are essentially being warehoused in our prison services, often in solitary confinement with little or no supports to rehabilitate them. This failure, in turn, is having a negative impact on rates of reoffending. If a serious mental health difficulty, such as acute psychosis, is the root cause of an offence, what hope is there for rehabilitation when the prisoner cannot access basic mental health services?

The end results often lead to reoffending upon release, which also leads to an increase in victims. This vicious cycle has been perpetuated by successive Governments' lack of investment and resource planning in both the Irish Prison Service and mental health services in the wider community. As part of our alternative budget, we called for a significant investment in prison services, which would allow for additional spending on staffing, rehabilitation and health services. We need reform for the safety of staff and prisoners and to reduce the potential for reoffending. Ireland has one of the highest reoffending rates across Europe. Much of that is due to low levels of funding for basic services.

I am interested in Dr. Finnerty's call for diversion programmes for people who offend as a direct result of serious mental health difficulty. My Sinn Féin colleagues and I wholeheartedly support this call, which brings me to my first question. Does the Government have any plans for diversion programmes for people with mental health issues who find themselves in the judicial system?

We speak to the stakeholders in community all the time. We are well aware of the faults in the system. We will continue to support communities to correct the wrongs in a broken system that criminalises a person who is unwell. For too long, the Irish justice system has been the gatekeeper for those experiencing mental health difficulties. An Garda Síochána is often the first group to respond to someone who is having a mental health crisis in our communities.

I welcome the pilot project that will begin in Limerick in the new year. It is mentioned in the report. It will see the establishment of a crisis de-escalation team that will treat someone who is having a mental health difficulty in the community. Along with my Sinn Féin colleagues, I have been calling for this approach to be adopted. We would like to see it replicated across the State.

Some of the conditions that mentally ill people are experiencing in our prisons at present are inhumane. There is no parity of esteem between a prisoner’s mental health and his or her physical health. For example, if a prisoner is suffering from a physical health issue, he or she will be removed from the prison and treated accordingly. This report has proven that the same treatment is not given to prisoners experiencing mental health problems. We will continue to support calls for diversion programmes for people who are mentally unwell. We will support communities that experience these issues and have clearly been forgotten by successive Governments. What learnings have been taken by the Government from this report? Will it start taking a cross-departmental approach? Are there any plans for diversion projects for those in front of the judicial system?

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