Vol. 435 No. 6
30 Miss Harney asked the Minister for Justice the visiting rights currently being extended to the family of a person (details supplied) who has been moved from a Dublin prison to a Cork prison; and the arrangements, if any, that are being made for this person to receive psychological treatment as a sex offender.
The prisoner's family has full access to normal visiting facilities in Cork prison.
While it would not be appropriate to disclose details of any individual prisoner, I can confirm to the Deputy that, like all other inmates, this person has access to a wide range of support services including psychological counselling. A formal prison-based structured treatment programme for sex offenders is now at an advanced stage of preparation. It will commence at Arbour Hill Prison and will focus particularly on prisoners nearing the end of their sentence.
