Written Answers. - Parliamentary Debates - Houses of the Oireachtas

Questions— 14 February 2012. Written Answers
499. Deputy Jonathan O’Brien asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of
prisoners who requested methadone treatment during each of the past five years; and the
number of prisoners who received methadone treatment during each of the past five years.
[7767/12]
Minister for Justice and Equality (Deputy Alan Shatter): I wish to advise the Deputy that it
is the policy of the Irish Prison Service that where a person committed to prison gives a history
of opiate use and tests positive for opioids to offer a medically assisted symptomatic detoxification,
if clinically indicated. Patients can, as part of the assessment process, discuss with
healthcare staff other treatment options, which may include stabilisation on methadone maintenance
for persons who wish to continue on maintenance, while in prison and when they
return to the community on release. Methadone maintenance is available in 9 of the 14 prisons
and places of detention. The following table illustrates the number of prisoners who received
Opiate Substitution Treatment with Methadone (detox, stabilisation, maintenance) in the last
5 years whilst in prison:
Year
Number of Prisoners
2007 1,840
2008 2,014
2009 2,424
2010 2,424
2011 2,241
Prison Medical Service
500. Deputy Jonathan O’Brien asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of
prisoners who requested pharmacy, dental, chiropody, physiotherapy and optical services during
each of the past five years; and the number of prisoners who received pharmacy, dental,
chiropody, physiotherapy and optical services during each of the past five years. [7768/12]
Minister for Justice and Equality (Deputy Alan Shatter): I wish to advise that it is not
possible to provide the Deputy with the specific information requested as this would require
the manual examination of records. Such an examination would require a disproportionate and
inordinate amount of staff time and effort and could not be justified in current circumstances
where there are other significant demands on resources.
The Irish Prison Service provides general healthcare services for the assessment, treatment
and care of prisoners comparable to that available to those entitled to General Medical Services
in the community and which are appropriate to the prison setting. The delivery of quality
primary care interventions is a central tenet of the Irish Prison Service Healthcare strategy.
Critical to the delivery of this service is the initial health assessment carried out at committal
from which care interventions are developed. If, on clinical assessment, a need is identified for
medical treatment, including those treatments identified by the Deputy, appropriate referrals
are made. Prisoners can also self refer for treatment. The healthcare service strives to meet the
essential healthcare needs of prisoners with a focus on health awareness and preventative
medicine.
Prison Service
501. Deputy Jonathan O’Brien asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will publish
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