Mentally ill 'treated as criminals'

People with mental illnesses are still being sent to prison instead of a psychiatric institution, prison chaplains warned today.

In their annual report of conditions in the state's prisons, the chaplains said there had been a significant increase in the practice.

They said it was shameful for such people to be branded as criminals.

"The obvious gaps in our healthcare service cannot be an excuse for incarcerating people who need ongoing professional care."

The National Prison Chaplains report mentioned the case of a 20-year-old man who was remanded in custody after a public order offence. It quickly became clear he did not understand why he was in prison.

He was unable to access the support organisations who had been arranging medical appointments for him.

"While every effort was made to care for this vulnerable man who was mute and greatly distressed, he was cut off from the very support and care that was available to him in the community," the report said.

It recommended that mentally ill people be given the appropriate professional care in the community or in psychiatric institutions.

Fr Declan Blake, the chaplain in Arbour Hill Prison in Dublin, said the courts were often too quick to send mentally ill people to prison.

"It's my personal opinion that a lot of them might be seen as a nuisance around the streets. I think they (the judges) just want them off the streets and prison is a quick solution."

Fr Blake said he and the other 21 chaplains working in Irish prisons had a different perspective due to their daily contact with offenders and their families.

Their annual report said padded cells were still in use in many prisons, even though their closure had been announced more than a year ago. It said there was particular concern about the use of the cells to punish prisoners rather protecting them from self--harm.

The report called for more prisoners to be granted temporary release to attend the funerals of family members.

It also called for an end to the "shameful and unacceptable practice" of imprisoning people who were awaiting deportation.

Fr Blake said the forthcoming closure of the outdated Mountjoy prison was welcome but added that the plan for more prison spaces was worrying.

"The more cell spaces they have, the more they have to fill up. It costs €80,000 to keep a prisoner for the year and in many cases, it's a waste of taxpayers money."

Fr Blake said alternatives to imprisonment such as rehabilitation courses, counselling and community service, should be explored instead.