€300,000 to be spent on assessing prisoners' mental health 

Research will also be used to guide pre- and post-release management of prisoners, including those to be placed under the supervision of the probation service.

The Irish Prison Service is to spend €300,000 on evaluating the mental health needs of Ireland’s entire inmate population.

The IPS said it is commissioning the research — together with the HSE and the probation service — into the “prevalence and impact” of mental health conditions across its prisons in line with the Government’s Sharing the Vision policy that provides for a broad-based mental health protocol for the entire population.

It admitted the information currently available on mental health illness across the prison estate is “dated and does not reflect all of the clinical needs of prison-based staff”.

The IPS said contemporary research is now required to inform its “strategic priorities” going forward in terms of how the “wide range” of mental health issues presenting across the service are to be managed.

The research will also be used to guide pre- and post-release management of prisoners, including those to be placed under the supervision of the probation service.

A listing of the mental disorders “to be considered for inclusion” and noted in the tender documents for the contract include: major depression/personality disorder; adjustment disorder; schizophrenia; bipolar disorder; substance use dependence; post-traumatic stress disorder; anxiety; eating disorders; obsessive compulsion; and adverse childhood experiences.

Research for the analysis is expected to be completed under certain time constraints, the IPS said, with its results to be presented in a report within 18 months of it commencing officially, slated for sometime before the end of September 2023.

There are currently approximately 4,200 inmates comprising Ireland’s prison population, spread across 12 prisons and remand facilities.

A recent report by the Irish Penal Reform Trust suggests that roughly one in three prisoners is on a waiting list for mental health services.