Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 500: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of prisoners who requested pharmacy, dental, chiropody, physiotherapy and optical services during each of the past five years; and the number of prisoners who received pharmacy, dental, chiropody, physiotherapy and optical services during each of the past five years. [7768/12]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I wish to advise that it is not possible to provide the Deputy with the specific information requested as this would require the manual examination of records. Such an examination would require a disproportionate and inordinate amount of staff time and effort and could not be justified in current circumstances where there are other significant demands on resources.

The Irish Prison Service provides general healthcare services for the assessment, treatment and care of prisoners comparable to that available to those entitled to General Medical Services in the community and which are appropriate to the prison setting. The delivery of quality primary care interventions is a central tenet of the Irish Prison Service Healthcare strategy. Critical to the delivery of this service is the initial health assessment carried out at committal from which care interventions are developed. If, on clinical assessment, a need is identified for medical treatment, including those treatments identified by the Deputy, appropriate referrals are made. Prisoners can also self refer for treatment. The healthcare service strives to meet the essential healthcare needs of prisoners with a focus on health awareness and preventative medicine.