Padded cells in prisons condemned in report

The use of padded cells in Irish prisons to restrain mentally ill inmates was among a number of disturbing findings of a report into human rights published today.

Even though the practice breaches a number of international agreements, the Government has indicated no intention of halting the practice, according to the report’s author.

Mr Brian Harvey said his research showed there were 270 incidents of prisoners being locked in padded cells in three Irish prisons during a six-month period last year. Over 75 per cent of those inmates were certified mentally ill or insane.

He was speaking at the launch of a new report entitled Rights and Justice in Ireland, which was commissioned by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust.

Some of those spent up to 18 days at a time in conditions of extreme sensory deprivation, exceeding the longest periods of endurance training given to Russian cosmonauts. "The Government admits this is going on, but proposes to continue doing so," he said.

Other significant findings were that Ireland is among the most politically corrupt states within the European Union; there is a marked lack of accountability for the Garda Siochána; racism is on the rise; and provisions for asylum-seekers, refugees and other minority groups are inadequate.

It also said the poverty gap between rich and poor continues to widen and that, in real terms, unemployment is higher than it was in the early 1970s. Homelessness is at its greatest recorded level, with over 5,200 people officially listed.

Immigration, at over 46,000 in 2001, is now higher than emigration. However, the "myth" that emigration has halted is false, Mr Harvey said, pointing out that over 23,000 people left Ireland last year.

Health services are among the poorest in the EU, with chronic state under-investment and a high level of public dissatisfaction. Ireland also has one of the worst environmental records in the EU, the report claims.

The Human Rights Commission, introduced under the Belfast Agreement, held great hopes, Mr Harvey said, but it has made very slow progress in the Republic. "It could be the most significant development in Irish human rights since the 1920s," he added.