Prison is not the place to manage offenders’ mental health

A long-overdue taskforce has a unique opportunity to influence the future direction of strategy and practice and make a significant contribution to making our communities safer, as well as ensuring help for those who need it

The percentage of people subject to penal sanctions such as probation and prison who have mental health and addiction issues in Ireland and internationally, is well above the comparable level in the general population. 

The establishment by Justice Minister Helen McEntee and Health Minister Stephen Donnelly of a taskforce “to consider the mental health and addiction challenges of persons interacting with the criminal justice system” is a welcome and long overdue response to what has been acknowledged as one of the most serious challenges facing that system. 

Individual 'horror stories’ that come to our notice through reporting in the national media, of violent crimes or detainees being held in unacceptable conditions, or unable to access appropriate treatment settings, unfortunately represent only the tip of this tragic iceberg, even in terms of the numbers affected.