Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 30 September 2004
226 Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the facilities which are provided for prisoners to receive testing for HIV, hepatitis C, STIs and other infectious diseases; and the number of prisoners who received testing in 2003. [23154/04]
Amharc ar fhreagraFor many years, prisoners have been provided with access to testing for various infectious diseases on a confidential basis. Testing may be requested by an individual prisoner or may be recommended by health care staff on the basis of pre-existing risk behaviour or other clinical indication. Testing may either be undertaken within prison or as part of a clinical assessment in external health locations.
At present, it is not possible to identify the precise number of prisoners who are facilitated with testing for one or more of these conditions. It is hoped the introduction of a computerised health care record system will facilitate the collation of data, on an anonymous basis, regarding the number of such tests.
227 Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the most common diseases or illnesses affecting the prison population; and the health information or campaigns which are provided for prisoners in relation to these diseases or illnesses. [23155/04]
Amharc ar fhreagraResearch on prisoners' health status, which was commissioned by the Department of Justice, Equality, and Law Reform and carried out by the department of health promotion at NUI Galway, was published in 2000. Entitled General Healthcare Study of the Irish Prisoner Population, the study indicated that prisoners reported overall poorer levels of health compared to the general population. In particular, indicators of mental health were significantly worse among prisoners and prisoners showed higher levels of drug and alcohol abuse relative to the general population.
Within the health care resources available, steps are taken to provide prisoners with health care related information which would serve to assist them in following a healthier lifestyle. Any information in written form provided as part of public health awareness campaigns is generally made available to prisoners, either through health care sources or in prison libraries.
