Govt plan to replace padded cells criticised

The Government's plan to replace the use of padded cells for mentally ill prisoners with new isolation cells has been sharply criticised by the Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT).

In a report published today, the IPRT says the new observation cells are merely "a cleaner version" of the old padded cells and fail to meet human rights standards.

The report's author Dr Valerie Bresnihan said: "The new cells will essentially remain places of solitary confinement and therefore places of further psychological damage".

Dr Bresnihan said: "Despite the good intentions of many in the prison service, Ireland is likely to again fall far short of accepted international standards. This is not acceptable."

The IPRT has long campaigned for an end to the use of padded isolation cells which it claims is in contravention of various human rights standards.

In December 2002, the Minister for Justice Mr Michael McDowell agreed the use padded cells was "unacceptable" and committed the Government to replacing them with "safety observation cells".

"Having closely monitored the implementation of Minister's decision, we are very concerned that unless the prison medical system is radically restructured, these new observation cells will be but a cleaner version of the padded cells that went before," said Dr Bresnihan said.

In particular, the report says: "The present shortage of appropriate staff within the overall prison system means that those in observation cells are unlikely to receive adequate treatment."

It says at present there appears to be "a serious misunderstanding of what a medical facility within a prison is meant to be".

The report says because of the restricted admission procedure and limited number of beds at the Central Mental Hospital "some mentally ill people who deserve hospitalisation will be obliged to remain in prison".

The report concludes: "The replacement of padded cells by observation cells will probably not greatly facilitate the right of all prisoners to adequate medical care unless other radical changes occur simultaneously".

"Mentally ill offenders should not be held in any type of prison cell unless there is a medical/para-medical automatically in attendance," it said.