The bishop condemned the prisons as “inhumane”. | Tech Reddy

The Bishop of Kilmore, Martin Hayes, has called on politicians to pay more attention to the medical and psychological needs of those imprisoned for drug-related offences.

In a statement issued by prisoners on Sunday, the Liaison Bishop of the Irish Prison Service criticized Ireland’s prisons as “inhumane”, stressing that many inmates struggle with addiction and loneliness.

“Punishment is not only for those in prison,” he stressed, praying for the families, but also for prison chaplains, whose work he said is “very important, but not talked about in prison services around the world.”

Separately, the chief executive of the Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) said the key to rehabilitating prisoners was “good relationships” with their families, friends and the outside world.

while speaking Tablet“Prisons: Reform, Rehabilitation…and Redemption?” As Andy Keane-Downs points out, for every captive, there is usually at least one family member fighting, including children.

“We know that 200-300,000 children are affected by the imprisonment of their parents every year. We also know that inmates who maintain strong and positive family relationships are 40 percent less likely to commit more crimes when they leave prison.”

Other speakers on the webinar included Jonathan Aitken, Rachel Billington and Dame Sally Coates.

Highlighting the impact of the Covid lockdown on prisoners and the pandemic policy of locking people up for more than 23 hours a day to reduce the risk of Covid transmission, Andy Keane-Downs warned that many prisons were still operating at such levels.

“It’s not because they want to and it’s not because of Covid; it’s because they don’t have the staff to administer the proper regimens with access to all the things we know can help people rehabilitate.”

Recalling the 1990 riot at Strangeways Prison in Manchester and the riots that led to a series of reforms after prison riots across the country, he said: “It shouldn’t take another prison riot to bring about the reform we need. . Our political leaders should pay attention to the state of the system.”