Solitary confinement bill passes second stage in Dáil

A private member’s bill to ban the use of solitary confinement in Irish prisons for more than 15 consecutive days has been referred to the Oireachtas justice committee.

Clare Daly, independent socialist TD for Dublin North, introduced the Prisons (Solitary Confinement) (Amendment) Bill last month following criticism from the UN.

Speaking ahead of the second stage debate in the Dáil yesterday, Ms Daly said: “The purpose of the Bill is to put an end to a human rights violation. What we are putting some people through in some instances is State-sponsored torture.

“The restrictions outlined in the Bill put the onus on the authorities to find alternatives. It is relevant because Ireland will appear before the UN in July when we will have to answer for our lack of effort in this regard.”

The bill was approved at the second stage and has now been referred to the justice and equality committee.