Jailing those with mental health issues is ‘wrong’ says junior minister Helen McEntee

Sending people with mental health issues to prison is unacceptable and tackling this must be a key priority for Government, junior minister Helen McEntee says.

Even if the capacity of the Central Mental Hospital was greatly expanded it would not be able to cope with the numbers of people who need to access services, the minister of state for mental health has said.

It comes after Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald brought a memo to cabinet this week on the first report of the interdepartmental group which is examining the issue of mental health in the criminal justice system.