Vol. 459 No. 8
121 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Justice if she will give a breakdown of staff numbers, salaries, professional contracts or working arrangements of psychiatric medical personnel in the prison service; if she will give comparative figures for psychological personnel; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19014/95]
There are six psychologists employed by my Department as civil servants. The salary scales range from £33,260 — £37,181 for psychologist grade 1 and from £17,537 — £34,067 for psychologist grade 2. The provision in the 1995 Estimates for their salaries is £175,000.
Eleven part-time psychiatrists, the majority of whom are full-time employees of health boards, are engaged in prison work involving the provision of sessional clinics and court reports. These psychiatrists are remunerated on a fee-paid basis. In the current year to date fee payments to individual psychiatrists have ranged from less than £1,000 to in excess of £23,000. The fees provision for the psychiatrists in the 1995 Estimates is £125,000.
In relation to working arrangements, discussions are taking place with a number of health boards aimed at improving psychiatric care within prisons by means of the formal sharing of psychiatric posts between the health service and the prisons. Approval has been granted for this proposed restructuring and further discussions are planned with a view to my Department entering into a contract with the Eastern Health Board for the provision of the revised psychiatric service to prisons in the Dublin area.
