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The creation of a clear, fair and supportive transgender policy for the operation of the Dóchas Centre women’s prison “is urgent and essential”, a new report says.
The annual report by the visiting committee for the 146-bed capacity Dóchas Centre women’s prison at Mountjoy in Dublin also states that the continued incarceration of multiple women with serious mental ill-health “puts undue strain on an over-stretched system and elevates the risk to both women and staff”.
On the absence of a transgender policy for the Dóchas Centre, the committee report states that it “is a matter of concern if the prison aspires to be inclusive of all women in custody”.
The report says that during the year the centre had a transgender woman in custody.
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The authors state that in the absence of a transgender policy, the governor puts in place a standard operating procedure which allows for the separation of vulnerable prisoners from the general prison population for their own safety.
The report says this results “in extended periods of isolation and reduces access to education and recreation”.
The authors state that it was the view of the governor at the time that, long term, having transgender prisoners across the three prisons – Dóchas, Limerick and Midlands – will force the conversation nationally within the service.
“In our view, it is insufficient to wait for circumstances to force the conversation – the creation of a clear, fair and supportive transgender policy is urgent and essential,” the report says.
“We would strongly urge that this be dealt with as a matter of priority. It is essential that relevant training and education be provided for prison staff to support the policy effectively and ensure the dignity and safety of any transgender women who come into custody.”
The 2021 report was submitted by chairperson Imelda Henry last June to Minister for Justice Helen McEntee but has only been published now by the Department of Justice as part of a batch of visiting committee annual reports.
The committee says it continues “to have concerns around the significant amount of women with mental health needs coming into custody. The continued absence of action on this issue has real, practical implications in the running of the prison and for the welfare of the women”.
An Irish Prison Service (IPS) spokeswoman said on Sunday said that the service “is currently drafting a policy for the management of transgender prisoners”.
She said the process of drafting the policy was taking account of evolving trends internationally and fact-finding in relation to best practice in other jurisdictions.
On the incarceration of prisoners suffering from serious mental ill-health, the spokeswoman said that view of the IPS “is that persons in custody suffering from a severe and enduring mental illness, who require in-patient treatment, should be admitted to a therapeutic facility”.
The spokeswoman said the statutory prisons watchdog, the Office of the Inspector of Prisons, recently completed an inspection of the provision of mental healthcare to people in prisons.
The inspection, which took place in late February and early March 2023, included visits to seven of the 12 prisons in the State: Cloverhill, Cork, the Dóchas Centre, Limerick, Midlands, Mountjoy and Portlaoise.
The spokeswoman said: “The focus of the inspection was on the treatment and conditions of people held in prison who are experiencing serious mental illness. This report is currently being compiled by the OIP and we await its publication.”