I would like to assure the Deputy that the Irish Prison Service Action Plan in respect of Cork Prison outlines the plans for implementation of accepted recommendations from the 2023 General Inspection of Cork Prison, and is currently being finalised. Additionally, the GP at Cork Prison is no longer attending Castlerea Prison, as recommended by the OIP.
Healthcare staffing within a prison setting remains challenging with current capacity levels. I would like to assure the Deputy that continuous reviews of staffing levels are conducted by the Irish Prison Service in conjunction with appropriate stakeholders.
The provision of healthcare services is a statutory obligation of the IPS as defined in the Prison Rules 2007.
To support rehabilitation, reduce reoffending and assist with reintegration into society, people in custody have access to a growing range of medical and rehabilitative services. These include methadone substitution treatment, counselling, psychological intervention, peer to peer support programmes, psycho-education and the Treatment and Rehabilitation Programme provided by Merchants Quay Ireland, available in the Medical Unit in Mountjoy Prison.
Treatment provided to people in prison who may be struggling with addiction is in line with the provisions of the following: National Drug Strategy; the IPS Drugs Strategy 2023-2026; the IPS Health Needs Assessment and the High Level Task Force (HLTF) on the mental health and addiction challenges of persons interacting with the criminal justice system.
The IPS also works closely with Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous who provide support to people in custody across the prison estate. Interventions that support prisoners to address addiction and rehabilitation require engagement and action, including follow up access to services on release, which is supported by cross-departmental and cross-agency strategies.
My Department is committed to implementing a range of policies to achieve this. The Programme for Government 2025 commits to establishing a high-dependency unit in the prison estate to address severe mental health and addiction challenges and to hiring more therapeutic and medical staff, including psychiatric nurses.
Additionally, the IPS Health Needs Assessment makes recommendations around strengthening and improving healthcare services within prisons.
