A report commissioned by the Department of Justice into healthcare within prisons said many mentally ill people end up in custody because of lack of support within the community.
The report by the Prison Health Expert Group - which was released today - warned against reliance on prison psychiatric units, and said inmates with mental illnesses need to be treated by the relevant local health authorities in psychiatric hospitals.
The report also said legislation is needed to ensure patients receive adequate supervision and care, thus preventing them from ending up on the streets or in jail.
Drug treatment is recognised as a major element of successful healthcare. The report recommended the exclusive use of the Mountjoy Training Unit for drug rehabilitation and giving drug-addicted inmates disinfectant tablets to clean their needles and prevent spreading diseases.
The Minister for Justice, Mr O’Donoghue, today said he recognised it would take "considerable dialogue and negotiation" between health services and prison officials to achieve all the recommendations in the report.
He said he has sent the report to the Director of the Prisons Service, Mr Sean Alyward.
Fine Gael said the findings of the report were a "disgrace" and that they showed many mentally ill people were being "condemned to a life on the streets or a life in prison" by Government policy.
The expert group comprised officials from the Departments of Justice and Health and representatives from prison management and professionals in the prison health sector.