Prison officers don riot gear to tackle psychotic inmates

Currently, 17 men and one woman in prison are on the waiting list for the Central Mental Hospital, four of whom have to be barrier handled by prison staff.

Prison officers must wear full riot gear to deal with psychotic prisoners who wait years for a bed in the Central Mental Hospital (CMH).

It is “totally unacceptable” for extremely mentally unwell people to be in prison when what they need is hospital care, said Irish Prison Service (IPS) director general Caron McCaffrey.