European torture body to inspect Irish prisons next year

The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture has announced plans to carry out an inspection of Irish prisons next year.

The committee said today that Ireland was one of 10 countries it planned to visit as part of an investigation into the treatment of prisoners.

The body, which is part of the 46-nation Council of Europe, has previously criticised Ireland over several aspects of the prison system, particularly the treatment of mentally ill detainees and asylum seekers.

The Government insists progress is being made on improving the situation, but Amnesty Ireland said today that many unacceptable practices were still continuing.

He said people with mental illness were being inappropriately held in prisons, including in padded cells, while residents of the Central Mental Hospital were still being forced to "slop out" on a daily basis.