McDowell called on to act on prison report

Fine Gael has called on the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, to address claims that his Department suppressed a report which highlighted the number of prisoners with mental handicap or learning disability.

A newspaper story this morning suggested the Government failed to publish the report which showed almost one third of the prison population was intellectually disabled.

The report, obtained by the Irish Examinerunder the Freedom of Information Act, showed 28.8 per cent of prisoners who were studied had an IQ of below 70. The average IQ is around 100.

The study was commissioned by the Government two years ago but it did not make the findings public, according to the newspaper.

Fine Gael's justice spokesman, Mr John Deasy, said Mr McDowell "must act immediately to determine why his Department suppressed this report."

"The findings of this report are deeply shocking and the suppression of it only exacerbates the situation," he added.

"What steps will the Minister take to overhaul the prison service to deal properly with offenders with learning disabilities or mental handicap?"

It’s a bigger problem now than it ever was before Governor of Mountjoy Prison, Mr John Lonergan

Ms Jan O'Sullivan of the Labour Party called on the Minister to publish the report in full and implement its recommendations.

"For those who have been charged and imprisoned there should be psychological assessment while in remand as well as supervised probation and sheltered training as an alternative to custodial sentences," she said.

"Where imprisonment occurs appropriate supervision, care and education must be provided to prisoners with intellectual disabilities."

The Governor of Dublin's Mountjoy Prison, Mr John Lonergan, told the Irish Examinerhe had "no hesitation in saying it's a bigger problem now than it ever was before."

"We have to stop these people going into the bloody system. I’m flabbergasted at the numbers of families affected," he added.

Mr McDowell, who has only been Minister for two weeks, said the first he heard of the report was in this morning's newspaper story.

He said it was "his inclination to publish every report. However, he would look at this report and make a decision after that".