Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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51. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the engagement she has had with the Minister for Health with regard to the establishment of the cross-departmental and cross-agency taskforce on mental health, addictions and imprisonment pursuant to the commitment in the programme for Government; the status of the taskforce; the membership of the taskforce; the terms of reference of the taskforce; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42350/20]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I wish to assure the Deputy that providing for the complex needs of people with mental health difficulties who come into contact with the criminal justice system is a priority issue for this Government and for my Department.

Its priority status is acknowledged in the Programme for Government in that it commits to establishing a high-level cross-departmental / cross-agency taskforce to consider the mental health and addiction challenges of those imprisoned, and primary care support on release.

In order the progress this matter, I met with my colleague the Minister for Health in September to lay the foundations for advancing work on this commitment without delay because I believe that a properly constituted Task Force with the support of both Departments can drive much needed transformation in this area.

It is widely acknowledged that every person with mental health difficulties coming in contact with the system should have access to comprehensive mental health support. The Deputy may appreciate that delivering on this requires considerable planning for, and implementation of, an appropriate model of care for this vulnerable group.

This will be a complex body of work with a number of cross-cutting issues that cannot be addressed in isolation.

I am pleased to say that collaboration with the Department of Health on the development of Terms of Reference and structure for the establishment of the Task Force is now at an advanced stage. The terms of reference have been agreed in principle between the two Departments. Work is now underway to identify a chair and put in place other administrative details as soon as possible.

We do recognise the urgent need to design and put in place proper systems to care for the most vulnerable people who come into contact with the criminal justice system as a priority and our objective, at present, is to move this matter forward in the first quarter of 2021.

This Government is fully committed to implementing the longer-term changes required to make our penal system safe, effective and responsive to the needs of all prisoners, especially vulnerable persons. While it is unlikely there are quick fix solutions to some of the issues as highlighted by the recent report from the Council of Europe Committee on the Prevent of Torture, we are determined to work intensively together to ensure all people get the care and support they need from our system.