A new report strongly criticises the use of padded cells for mentally ill prisoners. The Irish Penal Reform Trust report, to be published today, has found that more than three quarters of prisoners put into padded cells in prison were mentally ill. Some were kept naked and unable to call for help. The Prison Service has defended the use of padded cells for mentally ill patients, saying that they are also used in psychiatric institutions.
Today's report, "Out of Sight - Out of Mind", makes grim reading, highlighting what the Penal Reform Trust calls the shameful abuse of the mentally ill in Irish prisons. The report examined 224 admissions to padded cells in Mountjoy, Cork and Limerick prisons. It found that 78% of prisoners put into padded cells were mentally ill. Some were kept naked and according to anecdotal evidence were eating paint off the walls and going to the toilet in the cells. According to the report, one person spent 25 out of 30 days in solitary confinement. Another spent 18 days in a row in the padded cell. The report calls for a radical overhaul of the prison health system - including the immediate refurbishment of 40 rooms at the Central Mental Hospital.
The Director of the Irish Prison Service, Sean Aylward, has defended the use of padded cells in prisons. He points out they are also used in mental institutions and he insists that people are put there, not as punishment but for their own protection.
