20 February 2007
Dr. Henry: Once again, prison doctors have spoken out about the dreadful conditions in which they must treat people in prisons, especially those with serious mental health problems. There is a lack of facilities for treating these people in prisons and there are no secure units outside of the prisons, apart from the Central Mental Hospital. It is difficult and dangerous to prescribe legal drugs to mentally ill people if they are taking illegal drugs at the same time. The Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, when appointed four years ago, announced that our prisons would become drug-free. What progress has been made on this? From what the prison doctors have said and from what I have witnessed, there appears to be none.
The Minister for Education and Science is introducing aptitude tests for some university courses. These are to be taken along with CAO points. Why and how have these courses been chosen? Who will design the aptitude tests? Today, there were reports of problems with teaching in the classroom encountered by primary school teachers. I have not heard that aptitude tests are being introduced for them. No aptitude tests will be introduced in areas where complaints are made about people being unsuitable for particular professions, yet tests are being introduced for areas where there have been no complaints.
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