Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 24 November 2021
153. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Justice the number of Irish prisons that do not currently have comprehensive hepatitis C treatment programmes in place for which prisoners can receive treatment within the prison facility and without having to attend a hospital setting; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57873/21]
View answerI wish to advise the Deputy of the ten closed prisons under the remit of the Irish Prison Service, six have in-prison access to specialist hepatology services provided by St. James’s Hospital.
I can further advise the Deputy that the Irish Prison Service, in conjunction with the HSE, have planned a pilot programme for two of the prisons who do not have in-prison access to specialist hepatology services.
Unfortunately the ongoing Covid-19 situation has delayed the commencement of these programmes but progress is being made. Meetings have taken place with all relevant stakeholders and pre-planning initiatives such as prisoner education and enhanced prisoner communication have also begun.
It is envisaged that these pilot programmes will complement the existing Hepatitis C and Hepatology services in the Irish Prison Service.
It is also important to note that any prisoner who is already linked in to Hepatology services in a hospital will have their appointments facilitated. Furthermore, if a prisoner receives a diagnosis of Hepatitis C in prison they are immediately referred to specialist services if the specialist services are not available in the prison.
In respect of the two open prisons (Loughan House and Shelton Abbey) all prisoners in these institutions have already been through a closed prison which would give them access to such services and any appointments or treatment continue to be facilitated.
