But it was never matched by investment in community mental health services. However, by the time the 1995 white paper A New Mental Health Act was published, that ambition had cooled, with reservations expressed about referring people engaged in criminal proceedings into general mental health services. In other words, a person must first be received into the prison system before they can access mental health services. First, sustained and ringfenced investment in community mental health services and the development of regional forensic services. Prison was never meant to be Ireland’s largest waiting room for mental health services.

Source: Irish Examiner February 26, 2026 01:31 UTC