Lack of clarity over budget funding for addiction and mental health supports in prisons
10th October 2025
This article highlights ongoing uncertainty over government funding for addiction and mental-health supports in Irish prisons, despite severe demand and long waiting lists.
The Irish Prison Service has to have some flexibility in how it uses its money, says Saoirse Brady, executive director of the Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT). “We don’t know if there’s been an increase particularly for addiction services.” She noted that the Irish Prison Service has twice failed to secure a contractor to carry out a mental-health needs assessment, likely due to limited funding and renewed IPRT’s call for €1 million in Budget 2026 to fund that essential study.
Click hereto read the full article.
Related items:
- IPRT Submission to the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights on the fourth Universal Periodic Review of Ireland
- Life after prison - David McCullagh Show RTE Radio 1
- People in Ireland from poorer backgrounds are at a higher risk of going to jail, says report - Liberal.ie
- From Punishment to Prevention: Poverty, Inequality and Pathways into the Irish Criminal Justice System
- Irish Penal Reform Trust Links Poverty to Criminal Justice System - RTÉ News
