Padded cells ‘sign of failing prisons’

MORE THAN 600 prisoners end up in padded cells each year in this country, it was claimed yesterday.

Fine Gael deputy health spokesperson Dan Neville called for a mental health court system to be established to remove mentally ill offenders from the criminal justice system.

His calls follow the publication of a major research project which found that 60% of female prisoners and 35% of male prisoners had a history of mental illness.