Irish bishops have called on the Government to reconsider the planned relocation of both the Dóchas women’s prison and the Central Mental Hospital to a greenfield site in north Dublin.
The Irish Bishops’ Conference said moving the prison and the hospital to Thornton Hall in Swords was not in the best interests of female prisoners or the hospital’s patients.
Concluding its general meeting in Maynooth today, the conference noted that 2008 is the 150th anniversary of the opening of the Mountjoy female prison, now the Dóchas centre, and that it is the largest female prison in the country.
“The Irish Bishops’ Conference calls on the Government to reconsider this proposed relocation of the Dóchas Centre to Thornton Hall,” a statement said.
The bishops said the centre had a “very progressive” regime and was designed so that small numbers of women could live together in ‘houses’.
“Even if there is an intention to retain the present design features of the centre in Thornton Hall, the fact is that the new prison is planned to be almost twice as large as the existing one. This proposed increase in the capacity of the Dóchas Centre is one of the most disturbing features of the proposals in relation to Thornton Hall.”
The bishops said there was scope to reduce the use of imprisonment for female offenders, and to reduce the extent to which women in prison are detained in secure, closed prisons.
They also noted “ready access” from the prison to the accident and emergency services of the neighbouring Mater hospital and said the lives of women who had been attacked, who had attempted suicide or who had become ill, had been saved as a result.
On the relocation of the Central Mental Hospital, currently located in Dundrum, the bishops said they believed this move was “not in the best interests of patients”, that it would further increase the stigma associated with mental illness, and impede the rehabilitation of patients.
“It is contrary to the Government’s stated policy on mental health. Bishops call on the Government to revisit this decision,” the statement said.
The planned relocation of the hospital has been heavily criticised by the families of patients and also by doctors.
On immigration, the bishops said the rights of migrants to a family life should be “clearly laid out” in the Government’s Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill, bringing Ireland into line with other EU member states.
The bishops also welcomed the establishment by the Government of the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU).
“Bishops believe that AHTU will serve to ensure that the necessary policies and procedures, in accord with international best practice, are put in place and appropriate and adequate services made available to trafficked persons.”