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Prime Time RTE programme Monday and Tuesday last week Mental Health Prisons and community services

Thought for 48s

RTÉ Investigates: The Psychiatric Care Scandal. The RTÉ Prime Time episodes you referenced aired as a two-part investigative documentary series titled RTÉ Investigates: The Psychiatric Care Scandal on Monday, February 9, 2026, and Tuesday, February 10, 2026, at 9:35 PM on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player. The series examined Ireland’s mental health system, focusing on the criminalization of mental illness, failures in prison-based care, and shortcomings in community services. It highlighted how, two decades after the 2006 government policy “A Vision for Change” promised a shift from institutional to community-based care, the system remains broken, leaving vulnerable individuals and families abandoned by the state.Monday Episode (February 9):

Focus on Mental Health in Prisons

This episode exposed a deepening crisis in psychiatric care within Irish prisons, where a lack of acute hospital beds has led to acutely mentally ill people—often charged with minor offenses—being detained in custody instead of receiving appropriate treatment. Key findings included:

• A record-high waiting list for the Central Mental Hospital (CMH) in Portrane, reaching 38 people by the end of January 2026, with consistently high numbers (around 309) in late 2025—the highest since the old Dundrum hospital closed in 2022. rte.ie
• In Cloverhill Prison, the medical unit (designed for 27) has housed over 55 actively psychotic individuals at once, a tenfold increase over the past decade and a tripling in the last four years. The National Forensic Mental Health Service’s in-reach team manages an average of 706 prisoners, including 340 psychiatric patients (a 40% rise in two years) and 50 awaiting assessment, representing about 14% of Cloverhill’s population amid severe overcrowding (e.g., over 50 men sleeping on floors in 2025). rte.ie
• Patients often suffer from severe conditions like schizophrenia, auditory hallucinations, brain injuries, or dementia, rendering them unable to self-care. They end up in “life-threatening conditions” in prison due to insufficient hospital spaces, with experts like Professor Conor O’Neill stating, “These people need to be in hospital, not in prison.” rte.ie +1
• Tragic outcomes, including multiple deaths in Cloverhill over five years and a 2024 incident where a prisoner was killed by his cellmate, were linked to absent risk assessments and diagnostic failures. Chief Inspector of Prisons Mark Kelly criticized the system for frequent violence and inadequate committal processes. rte.ie
• The suspension of “Therapeutic Bail” (a 2006 workaround for minor offenders to access hospital treatment) following a January 2026 Judicial Review has worsened the crisis, causing a 20% waiting list spike in six weeks and increasing court pressures for fitness-to-plead hearings. rte.ie

Personal stories featured families sharing harrowing experiences, such as a schizophrenia patient’s ordeal, emphasizing systemic human rights issues and regulatory gaps.

limerickleader.ie The episode was based on court observations, inquests, frontline worker accounts, and reviews of investigation reports and post-mortems.

limerickleader.ie Tuesday Episode (February 10): Focus on Community Services and Systemic Failures

Building on Monday’s revelations, this episode questioned whether “A Vision for Change” has delivered on its promises, scrutinizing growing waiting lists and inadequate community supports for discharged patients. It highlighted ongoing institutionalization and the lack of modern, specialist services.

• Despite the new €250 million CMH in Portrane (opened in 2022 with capacity for 170 when fully operational, currently at 111 patients with 18 more beds phased in from 2025), the system struggles with unmet needs like assisted living and nursing care facilities that were never built. rte.ie +1
• Major shortcomings in community psychiatric care for high-risk patients were uncovered, including failures in monitoring and support post-discharge, leading to repeated crises and family distress. rte.ie +1
• A prominent story involved Stephen Loughnane, a brain-injured man held in uninterrupted seclusion for nearly five years across Limerick Prison, the old Dundrum CMH, and the new Portrane facility—conditions his mother, Jacinta Graham, described as “absolutely dreadful,” likening visits to “Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs” behind glass with speakers. This violates modern psychiatric standards, stemming from a lack of suitable residential settings. rte.ie +1
• Families expressed anguish over releases without adequate supports, with one stating, “He killed our son three years ago and now he’s allowed out, what’s going on?” The episode criticized policy failures for breaking families and abandoning individuals. limerickleader.ie +1

Experts like Dr. Charles O’Mahony from the University of Galway pointed to disparities between Mental Health Commission standards and prison realities, while government officials (e.g., Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill and Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan) acknowledged collaborative efforts but faced calls for urgent reforms.

rte.ie The series was praised as exemplary public service journalism for its delicate handling of conflicting rights and exposure of incremental change’s limitations.

independent.ie Overall, the programs called for addressing overcrowding, access delays, and community gaps to prevent the criminalization of mental illness. For full viewing, episodes are available on RTÉ Player.

about.rte.ie If you’re seeking support, resources like the HSE’s mental health services or organizations such as Shine