Vol. 492 No. 3
70 Mr. Stanton asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the prisons and places of detention where a psychological service is provided to inmates; the number of hours worked by psychologists in each prison; the number of psychologists employed in each facility; the prisons, if any, from which psychological services have been withdrawn recently; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13916/98]
A psychological service is available to inmates in all prisons and places of detention. There are seven psychologists employed by the Department's clinical psychological service dealing exclusively with the prison system. All are headquarters staff and attend at different institutions in response to perceived needs.
In order to respond to changing and increasing demands on the service it has been necessary to change the way in which it is provided in some institutions. This has led to a movement away from a regular attendance in these institutions to a demand orientated one. The number of hours during which psychologists attend at the different institutions varies from week to week.
