Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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12. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the actions he is taking to resolve the concerns highlighted in a report (details supplied), which identified significant concerns about the environmental accessibility of Irish prisons for people with disabilities, with some individuals being unable to leave their cells or wings for large portions of their prison stay and, accordingly, having limited access to education, employment and recreational activities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25310/23]

Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Will the Minister outline the actions he has taken to resolve the concerns highlighted in the report, Making Rights Real for People with Disabilities in Prison, by the Irish Penal Reform Trust?

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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The Irish Prison Service is committed to providing safe, secure and respectful care for all of those committed to custody. I accept that for those with a disability, the prison environment can provide significant challenges, but I can assure the Deputy that any prisoner who, following assessment, requires supports with activities of daily living is accommodated in a suitable setting. This applies to the physical infrastructure and to the support of healthcare assistants who provide a full range of personal care services to meet prisoners' needs.

As the Deputy will be aware, the prison estate in Ireland consists of a mix of old historical buildings and new, more modern facilities. The Government has made significant investments over recent years to modernise facilities and replace outdated accommodation. New prison developments include dedicated accommodation suitable for people with disability or mobility issues. These cells are on ground floors and are equipped to meet the needs of the user. For example, the modern prison buildings in Limerick, Cork, the Midlands and Wheatfield prisons include accessible accommodation and the Dóchas Centre has 30 cells which are wheelchair accessible. In addition, the refurbishment of the training unit in Mountjoy Prison included the installation of two high-dependency suites should a prisoner require full nursing care, and the Irish Prison service has, as part of its fleet, wheelchair accessible transport.

In relation to the provision of supports and services, including education and training, education in prisons is delivered in partnership with the education and training boards, ETBs. I assure the Deputy that at all times prison education seeks to deliver relevant programmes that ensure broad access and high participation. Indeed, education staff in prisons are particularly vigilant in identifying individual education needs and discuss each prisoner's needs with them on application to the school, including their literacy levels and any additional supports that are required.

Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister of State for his reply. The report, which was published in 2020, identified significant concerns about the environmental accessibility of Irish prisons. Some individuals were unable to leave their cells or their wings for large portions of their prison stay and had limited access to education, employment and recreational activities. The report makes a number of recommendations, one of which is that accessibility audits be carried out. I am aware that some of our prisons are in older buildings, but we must ensure any new extensions or new premises are built to the Universal Design ++ standard to ensure they are physically accessible to people with physical disabilities. It is also recommended that information provided to prisoners is in accessible formats. Quite a large number of prisoners have intellectual disabilities and may not fully understand prison rules. Those rules should be explained to them in accessible formats, such as large, easy-to-read print, electronic format, Irish Sign Language, ISL, audio files and so on. Information on the complaints procedure should also be provided to them in an accessible format.

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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The provision of education and training is key to reducing recidivism. The Prison Service provides supports and services, from basic literacy and numeracy education right up to third-level qualifications. The provision of education in prisons is delivered in partnership with the ETBs. I assure Deputy Tully that at all times prison education seeks to deliver relevant programmes that ensure broad access and high participation. The education staff in prisons are particularly vigilant in identifying individual education needs. They discuss each prisoner's needs with them on application to the school, including their literacy levels and any additional supports that are required.

To meet the needs of the increasing number of people in custody, the Prison Service's psychology service has enhanced its model of care to provide greater breadth of provision through group work and workshops for people with disabilities or neurodiversity. The focus is on supporting people through talk therapy in relation to mood and anxiety difficulties, personality difficulties, post-traumatic stress disorder, self-harm, suicidal behaviour, eating disorders, psychosis, schizophrenia, and addiction. Staff also assess, diagnose and work with people with developmental disorders, including intellectual difficulties, cognitive decline and traumatic brain injuries.

Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Training for all staff is also very important so that they have a better understanding of the need not to discipline prisoners for behaviours related to their disability. Solitary confinement for anyone with a disability should be prohibited. It is also recommended that the service would provide quiet cells for those with sensory issues.

The Irish Prison Service is doing an excellent job. Representatives of the service appeared before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Disability Matters in recent months and said that the service is understaffed in areas like psychology. There are 2,000 prisoners using the psychology services but a substantial number are on a waiting list. That needs to be addressed. They also made the point that a large number of people with mental health issues in prisons might not be there if they had been given the proper supports in society. I know of a number of people who ended up in prison because the local psychiatric unit refused to accept them. We need to look at providing more supports for people in the community and in our hospitals to ensure they do not end up in prison, which is not a suitable environment for them and which can worsen their disability.

Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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I want to speak about people with psychosocial disabilities and mental health difficulties in prisons. It is reported that 17 men and women are currently waiting in prison to be admitted to the Central Mental Hospital. Four of them are so gravely unwell and suffering from psychosis that they must be barrier-handled, whereby only prison officers in full riot gear and shields can deal with them. That is absolutely inhumane in a modern society. One man has been waiting for two years to be admitted to the Central Mental Hospital.

I have tabled another related question that we will probably not reach today. It relates to the crisis de-escalation team the Department was hoping to get up and running in Limerick. It has been delayed for the past while. It is a pilot scheme that I really welcomed when it was announced by the former Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee. The objective is to prevent people entering the judicial system in the first place. If we could get an update on that pilot programme, that would be fantastic.

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I agree that prison officers need to be trained to support people with disabilities, mental health difficulties and those with a history of trauma, and that is happening. All recruit prison officers are provided with extensive training to equip them to work supportively with and manage vulnerable people. Irish Prison Service psychologists contribute to the training on mental health awareness and the link between trauma and offending in neurodiversity.

In addition, work is progressing in some prisons on more autism-friendly environments with the support of AsIAm. This includes training of staff and changes to physical infrastructure, particularly in waiting areas, and initiatives such as the development of a sensory garden in Wheatfield Prison, which the Minister, Deputy Harris, opened recently.

As regards mental health specifically, the Minister, Deputy McEntee, set up the mental health task force. It has reported, and its report being implemented. We also recently opened the new National Forensic Mental Health Service hospital, which will help provide additional services in a timely manner. Outreach is done into our prisons as well.

I am aware of the scheme in Limerick. It is a very important scheme. I do not have an update on it here but I will get the Deputy one.