We have become self-centred and selfish, giving very little attention to the needs of others, with the "I'm all right" philosophy very evident, Mr John Lonergan, the governor of Mountjoy Prison, said yesterday. We measure our time in money terms, Mr Lonergan said. Most of us only get involved in an activity provided we gain materially. Individually, we had allowed ourselves to become `me feiners'.
We are now a fragmented society. Any society which continues to ignore the human needs of so many of its most vulnerable and weak members is soulless and heartless.
Mr Lonergan was addressing Conference 98 in Ennis, Co Clare, on the theme "Our Society in the New Millennium".
In contemporary modern Ireland, he said, the three elements of human infrastructure - the individual, the family and the community at large - are currently experiencing dramatic change and all are in need of urgent attention.
In a wide-ranging speech, he said that at the coal face of prison he had a unique opportunity to observe "justice" in action.
He had met many people who had ended up in prison, not because they were criminal or dangerous but because there was no other place to care for them.
"I think in particular of the many women - young and old - who were totally helpless and inadequate. Every day we have at least five or six seriously mentally disturbed or inadequate men and women in prison.
"Why do we as a society treat these people in such a callous manner? This year, a middle-aged woman spent 28 days in a padded cell in Mountjoy awaiting transfer to the Central Mental Hospital. She needed medical treatment and care, but she had to wait for almost a month before her cry was heard. To really rub salt into her wounds, during her time of crisis she received a criminal conviction for entering a store-room in a city hospital with intent to steal bandages."
The old concept of the local community is also being threatened, Mr Lonergan believed.
"We need to develop a sense of identity and belonging and the local community provides the platform for this.
"Has the pub become the centre point of our community? The television, the video, the Internet, has replaced interaction with our neighbours. Visitors to the home are made feel like intruders.
"As a consequence we have become indifferent to the needs of the weak and inadequate in our community. Nobody knows and nobody cares any more, the philosophy being `it's not my problem.' "
Mr Lonergan stressed that every night in our urban areas many hundreds of people are homeless. "As a society, we simply do not care, but even worse is the reaction of people when a statutory body or voluntary agency attempts to respond in a meaningful way - there are strong objections raised and in most instances the best-laid plans are hijacked."
Our educational system is directed totally in favour of the middle and upper classes insofar as it is producing highly qualified professionals for the workplace and is very much achievement-orientated.
He said the media had been given the huge responsibility of being society's main watchdog and influencer. It had been given this role through default due to the decline of the influence of the church and politicians.
"The public has the right to know the particular agenda being followed by any particular unit of the media. The media must resist the temptation to create human monsters. A good example is the young 15-year-old who some years ago was labelled the `Young General'. This was irresponsible and a serious abuse of power by some of the media."