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Representatives of the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT), led by its President, Alan Mitchell, held talks on prison and health issues with Jim O’Callaghan, Minister of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, and Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, Minister for Health, in Dublin on 10 November 2025. The talks were also attended by Oonagh McPhillips, Secretary General, and John O’Callaghan, Deputy Secretary General of the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, and other senior officials from both Departments as well as Caron McCaffrey, Director General of the Irish Prison Service.
The discussions focused on the current situation in Irish prisons and the action being taken by the Irish authorities to implement the recommendations from the CPT’s most recent visit in May 2024. Many of these recommendations date back many years and the CPT wished to seek reassurance from the Ministers O’Callaghan and Carroll MacNeill that concrete steps were being taken to address the concerns of the Committee. In particular, given the negative impact that overcrowding has on all aspects of prison life, the President of the CPT emphasised the importance of taking urgent measures to end the practice of many prisoners having to sleep on mattresses on the floor. Other topics discussed included reducing violent incidents in prison, deaths in custody, the treatment of prisoners in segregation and on restricted regimes as well as women prisoners. Particular attention was also paid to the challenge of providing appropriate care to persons in prison with a serious mental disorder and the pathways of care into and out of the Central Mental Hospital in Portrane.
The delegation was particularly keen to learn about the various steps being taken by the Irish authorities to implement the CPT’s recommendations.
An exchange was also held with Mark Kelly, Chief Inspector of Prisons for Ireland, and Liam Herrick, Chief Commissioner of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC).
The delegation was led by Alan Mitchell, President of the CPT, and Gunda Wössner, 2nd Vice-President, with the support of Hugh Chetwynd, Executive Secretary, and Francesca Gordon, Advisor, of the CPT Secretariat.
Source, text and photo – the CPT
