Report criticises use of padded cells

The Director General of the Prison Service has defended the detention of mentally-ill prisoners in padded cells.

Sean Aylward said prisoners are placed in strip cells or padded cells for their own protection and the safety of staff and other prisoners.

His comments follow a shock report by the Irish Penal Reform Trust, which found that 78% of inmates put into such cells were suffering from mental illness.

The report said that solitary confinement is used as a regular substitute for medical care.

It also revealed that some prisoners are kept naked while in solitary with no access to a call button.

The report further claims that such prisoners have been seen eating paint off cell walls.

The IRPT said such conditions only worsen the condition of mentally ill prisoners and it has called for proper psychiatric treatment to be made available.