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UNCAT: Penal reform group welcomes prison health care and solitary confinement recommendations

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Fíona Ní Chinnéide
Fíona Ní Chinnéide

The Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) has welcomed recommendations by the UN Committee Against Torture (UNCAT) on prison health care and the use of solitary confinement in Ireland.

The committee published its concluding observations on Friday afternoon.

Among its key recommendations is that that the Government orders a fundamental review of deficiencies in prison health care services, including a shortage of qualified medical and psychiatric staff.

It also calls on the Government to ensure solitary confinement remains a measure of last resort, is abolished for juveniles, and is subject to strict supervision and judicial review.

The committee’s other recommendations on detention include:

  • the “forthwith” ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT) to protect people in all places of detention from ill-treatment;

  • the effective and independent monitoring of prisons, including facilitating existing monitoring bodies and civil society organisations to make repeated and unannounced visits and publish reports;

  • and the further reduction of the overall prison population, particularly in light of a continuing rise in the number of women in detention, through increased use of community-based sanctions.

    • Fíona Ní Chinnéide, the IPRT’s acting executive director, said: “IPRT welcomes the strong recommendations made by the UN Committee on detention issues, particularly in the areas of solitary confinement and prison health.

    “We also welcome the deserved recognition of real progress achieved since 2011 in addressing some of the most serious human rights issues, including overcrowding, slopping out and imprisonment of children. The progress achieved since 2011 marks the importance of international monitoring and oversight.”

    Ms Ní Chinnéide added: “The Committee’s recommendations highlight an opportunity for the Government to commit to timelines for action on OPCAT ahead of the 10th anniversary of Ireland’s signing of the Protocol on 2nd October 2017.

    “The Committee has also highlighted the urgent need for a fundamental review of prison health services, and the use of solitary confinement as a measure of last resort only, and for solitary confinement never to be applied to juveniles, effectively calling for the abolition of this practice as a disciplinary measure for that cohort.

    “We welcome the State’s engagement with the Committee in Geneva and the Committee’s insightful recommendations, and we look forward to strong commitments by the Irish Government to progress policies and legislation to ensure these recommendations are met.”

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