24th October, 2002
Dr. Henry: I welcome the Minister. I, too, have many things for him to do. The previous Minister, a great enthusiast for prisons, initiated a very extensive prison building programme. We have now reached the top of the league in Europe in terms of many aspects of our penal system. For example, we have the highest throughput of prisoners in Europe, the highest recidivism rate - 89% - which is utterly astonishing, and the most expensive prison system. It costs more than €1,000 per week to keep a prisoner incarcerated here. We also have the highest proportion of under 21 year olds in custody. I am not enthusiastic about our position at the top of the league in all these areas.
I was extremely concerned by the findings of a report commissioned in 1999 by the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. Published in August 1999 under the title, A Survey of the Level of Learning Disability (Mental Handicap) among the Prison Population in Ireland, the study was carried out by Mr. Michael Murphy, Dr. Mark Harrold, Dr. Seán Carey and Mr. Mark Mulrooney. I strongly recommend the Minister read the report if has not yet had the opportunity to do so.
The survey covered 10% of the prison population. Psychologists visited all 14 prisons in the State. Alphabetical lists of the inmates were drawn up and each tenth prisoner on the lists was interviewed, unless he or she was considered by the governor or his representative to be unsuitable for the purpose. The vast majority of prisoners asked to co-operate with the study did so. During the one hour interview a number of assessments were made, including the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test which examines reading, writing and mathematical ability. To their horror, the researchers discovered that 28.8% of the prison population scored below 70% in the test, which denotes severe disability or mental handicap. The equivalent level in the general population is 2% to 3%. What was also extraordinarily worrying was that a comparison of the scores here with those of prison populations in other countries, for example, Australia and the United Kingdom, found that the scores of prisoners elsewhere were very similar to those in the respective general population. Ours, on the other hand, were ten times higher.
The study found significant differences between the group with this very low intelligence quotient indicating serious learning disabilities and other groups. The former had spent far fewer years at school and one of the most interesting facts to emerge - I ask Senator Walsh to take note - was its very high dropout rate in the first two years at secondary school. The average age at which the prisoners in question left school was 13.7 years, whereas among other prisoners it was 15.1 years. The researchers pointed out that this was the stage at which the number of remedial teachers in schools drops off severely. In their recommendations they argued that the most important way to keep people out of prison would be to increase the number of remedial teachers catering to pupils of that age, not reintroduce corporal punishment.
They also pointed out that the vast majority of the prisoners in question had been unemployed - query unemployable - before they became involved in crime. Many of them did not have any skills and none had a profession. The prisoners examined ranged in age from 16 to 64 years, but it was a much younger group who had learning disabilities, the average age of whom was 26 years. The average age of other prisoners was 29 years. Among prisoners in the Curragh and Arbour Hill there was no significantly younger group with learning disabilities or a mental handicap because such prisoners are mainly imprisoned for sex offences and were found to be very much on a par with the general population.
Another extremely worrying finding was that only 28% of those with learning disabilities were involved in preparing for examinations, compared to 48% of the general prison population, although it is good to see that 45% of them were receiving some form of remedial education. I wish to share some of my time with Senator Quinn.
An Leas-Chathaoirleach: The Senator has two minutes left in total.
Dr. Henry: I suggest that the Minister looks at these recommendations which strongly advise an increase in the number of remedial teachers and training of gardaí, prison officers and judges. One has to ask the value there is in putting the people under discussion in prison because doing so leads merely to their involvement with hardened criminals. Sadly, they are then led into further episodes of crime on release. They are simply being contained for a short time.
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