Ciarán Cuffe
Ceist:448 Mr. Cuffe asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform his views on the statement made by a person (details supplied) that drug use in Irish prisons is no worse than in Irish society. [26125/03]
Written Answers. - Drugs in Prisons.
No level of illegal drug consumption in a prison setting is acceptable to me or to the prison authorities. It is extremely difficult, however, to quantify the precise level of illegal drugs consumed by prisoners while in custody, particularly given the extremely covert nature of illicit drug taking in a custodial setting. However, an independent study by the Health Research Board Drug Use Among Prisoners: An Exploratory Study, which was published in 2001 found that once imprisoned, those who continued to engage in illicit drug use greatly reduced the quantity of drugs they used, and the frequency with which they used them, when compared to their drug use in the community. This study focused on the Mountjoy Prison complex and involved anonymous and confidential interviews with prisoners who were long-term drug abusers. The study reported that it was felt that there was a perception among the general public that drugs were extensively available within the prison. Respondents argued that this was not the case. In the respondents experience, while drugs were available in the prison, the quantity was significantly lower than assumed by the public.
There is, furthermore, no reliable evidence to suggest that the use of illegal drugs in prisons is on the increase. On the contrary, there are indications that there has been something of a decrease in the use of illegal drugs in prison in recent times. The introduction of the methadone maintenance programme in a number of our prisons in recent years has resulted in a significant number of offenders with long drug histories, who would have been on report in the past for using illegal drugs in the prison environment, now being on a stable programme for which they must supply at least two clean urine samples per week. The Governor of Mountjoy Prison and senior members of his management team have also reported that there has been a reduction in the number of prisoners appearing at disciplinary hearings, having been found in the possession of drugs or drugs paraphernalia. The new visiting arrangements in the prison and the methadone maintenance programme referred to above, appear to be among the reasons behind this decrease. The remark by the Prisons Director General quoted by theSunday Times was in reference to these positive developments.
Finally, I wish to reiterate that it is the intention of both myself and the Irish Prison Service, in line with the commitments in An Agreed Programme for Government, to take all necessary measures to eliminate drug misuse among prisoners.