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A two part RTÉ Investigates documentary examines the deepening crisis in psychiatric care within the Irish prison system, with a particular focus on the growing number of acutely mentally ill and actively psychotic people being detained in Irish prisons due to the lack of appropriate hospital places.  This documentary by RTÉ Investigations Unit documents record waiting lists for the Central Mental Hospital, the suspension of therapeutic bail following a High Court judicial review, and the resulting legal and human rights implications.

Dr Charles O’Mahony, Associate Professor in the School of Law at the University of Galway and a member of the Crime, Punishment and Rights Research Cluster, contributed to the documentary through interview and expert legal commentary.

The programme highlights how prisons, which are not approved centres under the Mental Health Act 2001, are increasingly being used as de facto mental health services.  It documents the impact of overcrowding, delays in access to treatment, and the consequences for individuals often charged with relatively minor offences but experiencing severe mental illness.  Families of those affected, including relatives of people who died in custody, speak about the human and systemic costs of these failures.

Dr O’Mahony’s contribution addressed the significant gap between the standards applied by the Mental Health Commission in approved centres and the realities of mental health care in prisons, as well as the absence of effective regulation, oversight, and diversion mechanisms.  He also spoke to the broader constitutional and international human rights issues raised by the detention of people needing mental health services in custodial settings.

The documentary series, RTÉ Investigates: The Psychiatric Care Scandal, is broadcast on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player as a two-part investigation and represents an important contribution to public debate on criminal justice, mental health, and human rights in Ireland.

Watch Now - RTÉ Investigates: The Psychiatric Care Scandal

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