A District Court judge has criticised the HSE and the Departments of Health, Education, and Justice over the lack of secure places outside the prison system for offenders with intellectual disabilities.
Judge John Neilan referred to reports which indicated that Alan McManus, 1 Tormey Villas, Athlone has “no capacity to learn from punishment so imprisonment is only of preventative value,” that he is a risk to himself and others, and has “limited understanding of normal social boundaries and interactions”.
Offences before the court include possession of knives on a number of occasions and trespass with intent to cause fear. Gardaí say a possible stabbing incident is also being investigated.
The judge said there is no institution in the state competent or capable of dealing with Mr McManus’ needs, a situation with “yawning gaps” that has been “going on for decades. It doesn’t answer the case of justice, nor does it answer the case of Mr McManus.”
“I don’t have the magic wand that should be possible to put in place the structures and institutions to help your son,” he told the boy’s father.
He had expressed a willingness to take his son home on the understanding that he would be supervised during the day on a programme run in conjunction with the HSE but there were no HSE representatives in court to satisfy the judge.
Mr McManus also accepted that he had called Gardaí when a difficulty with his son’s medication resulted in behaviour that put him in fear.
Inspector Jarlath Folan expressed concerns for the public if Mr McManus was released on bail and these were echoed by the judge’s fear that the use of alcohol combined with his disability might result in a fatal injury to someone.
Judge Neilan said the Bail Act 1997 obliged him to seriously consider the appropriateness of releasing someone likely to reoffend, but had to balance this with the alternative of custody which medical experts said was of no use to the defendant.
Remanding him to Cloverhill, he directed that he be isolated from other prisoners because of his intellectual disability and asked that the HSE kindly give a clear answer regarding its intention towards offenders whose behaviour was a result of intellectual disability.
He asked whether they were condemning Mr McManus and others like him, who commit crimes because of their intellectual disability, to “remain in this particular vacuum until he dies”.
