In the course of the visit, the delegation examined the treatment of persons deprived of their liberty in prison and their conditions of detention. Further, the delegation assessed the situation of persons deprived of their liberty in psychiatric hospitals and juveniles held in an educational institution. The delegation also visited a special care unit in which children with complex needs are detained. Particular attention was paid to the measures taken by the authorities to implement recommendations made by the Committee after its previous visits, including as regards women in prison, prisoners held on restricted regimes, the provision of mental healthcare and deaths in custody.
In the course of the visit, the delegation held consultations with Helen McEntee, Minister for Justice and Mary Butler, Minister of State for Mental Health and Older People. It also met with Oonagh McPhillips, Secretary General of Department of Justice, Caron McCaffrey, Director General of the Irish Prison Service (IPS), Kevin McCarthy, Secretary General of Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, as well as senior officials from these Ministries, and from the An Garda Síochána, the Health Services Executive, the IPS, among others.
The delegation also met Ger Deering, Ombudsman and Information Commissioner for Ireland, Mark Kelly, Chief Inspector of the Office of the Inspector of Prisons, Niall Muldoon, Ombudsman for Children, Orla Keane, General Counsel for the Mental Health Commission and Jim Lucey, Inspector of Mental Health Services.
Further, meetings were held with the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, the College of Psychiatrists, Irish Penal Reform Trust, Irish Council for Civil Liberties, Mental Health Reform and Empowering People in Care (EPIC).
At the end of the visit, the delegation provided the Irish authorities with its preliminary observations.
The visit was carried out by the following CPT members:
- Alan Mitchell, CPT President, Head of Delegation
- Judith Öhri
- Helena Papa
- Dmytro Yagunov
- Gunda Wössner
They were supported by Francesca Gordon and Paolo Lobba of the CPT Secretariat and were assisted by three experts, Birgit Völlm, Professor of Forensic Psychiatry, Germany, Bradley Hillier, Psychiatrist, United Kingdom and Martin Lomas, HM Deputy Chief Inspector of Prisons, United Kingdom.
The delegation visited the following places of deprivation of liberty:
Establishments operating under the authority of the Department of Justice
- Castlerea Prison
- Cloverhill Remand Prison
- Limerick Female Prison
- Limerick Male Prison
- Mountjoy Female Prison (Dóchas Centre)
- Mountjoy Prison High Support Unit*
Establishments operating under the authority of the Department of Health
- Central Mental Hospital
Establishments operating under the authority of the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
- Oberstown Children Detention Campus
- Ballydowd Special Care Unit*
*Targeted visit to assess the provision of mental healthcare and the application of restrictive measures.