The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (“the Commission”) has today met with the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) to discuss the treatment of people deprived of their liberty in Ireland.
Chief Commissioner, Liam Herrick met with the President of the CPT and his expert colleagues to discuss the Commission’s key priorities. These include the implementation of the CPT’s 2024 recommendations to Ireland on prisons, the Central Mental Hospital and children in detention, children in secure care, the urgent need for progress on the Inspection of Places of Detention Bill and the ratification of the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention Against Torture, and our concerns about the proposed expansion of immigration detention in Ireland.
Following the meeting Liam Herrick, Chief Commissioner of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission stated:
“The Commission has serious concerns over worsening conditions in the country’s prisons, as highlighted by both the CPT and the recent report by the Office of the Inspector of Prisons. These include a sharp deterioration in physical safety, inadequate mental healthcare, widespread inter-prisoner violence, a pattern of preventable deaths in custody, and allegations of abuse by staff.
There is urgent need for systemic reform of the inspection and oversight of all places where people may be deprived of their liberty. This means that Ireland must finally publish the Inspection of Places of Detention Bill and provide for the establishment of adequately resourced National Preventative Mechanisms.”