Ireland’s prison and detention systems remain in breach of basic human rights standards, according to the Council of Europe’s anti-torture watchdog.
Gunda Wössner, second vice-president of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT), spoke in Dublin this morning at a joint meeting with the Office of the Inspector of Prisons (OIP). She said:
The CPT’s report on its 2024 visit to Ireland found chronic overcrowding, deteriorating safety, widespread inter-prisoner violence, and allegations of staff abuse. It also identified serious mental healthcare failures, including the detention of severely mentally ill prisoners in conditions described as “degrading”.
The CPT has again called on Ireland to ratify the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture (OPCAT) and to establish a fully-resourced national preventive mechanism (NPM) without delay, allowing to have a preventive approach to dealing with risks of ill-treatment.
Gunda Wössner, second vice-president of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT), spoke in Dublin this morning at a joint meeting with the Office of the Inspector of Prisons (OIP). She said:
Ireland’s authorities have failed to take adequate and timely action to address a number of longstanding recommendations by the CPT, particularly on overcrowding, poor mental healthcare, complaints mechanisms, and unsafe conditions across places of detention.
The CPT’s report on its 2024 visit to Ireland found chronic overcrowding, deteriorating safety, widespread inter-prisoner violence, and allegations of staff abuse. It also identified serious mental healthcare failures, including the detention of severely mentally ill prisoners in conditions described as “degrading”.
The CPT has again called on Ireland to ratify the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture (OPCAT) and to establish a fully-resourced national preventive mechanism (NPM) without delay, allowing to have a preventive approach to dealing with risks of ill-treatment.
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