Torture in Ireland - Report we can’t ignore

IT is still true that a society can be judged on how it treats its weakest members. In that context this week’s highly critical report from the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment admonishes us all.

The report does not reveal anything new or anything that has not been pointed out repeatedly. It points to the mistreatment of psychiatric patients in our “shabby hospital buildings unfit for human habitation”.

Representatives of the committee visited Ireland last year and found violence and under-staffing caused huge problems at some psychiatric hospitals.

The report also highlights “degrading” and “debasing” conditions in many prisons which are a direct result of tremendous overcrowding. Inspectors were shocked by the violence which made prisons “unsafe” for prisoners and staff.

It is unlikely that any election candidate will make much of either of these issues because they know if we were serious about resolving them, or if we really cared, they would have been dealt with long ago.

This tells us more about our attitude to the weak and vulnerable than is comfortable or acceptable.