Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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Professor Comiskey mentioned Patricia, who was abused at the age of seven. She was injecting at the age of 15. She was criminalised for her sexuality at the age of 20 and got HIV at the age of 24. Now aged 45, she is still subjected to supervised urine testing. I spoke about this last week, but part of a previous role when I first started was supervising male urine samples. I always found they were used for punitive measures, rather than clinical measures. What are the witnesses' thoughts on supervised urine testing in 2024? Are they still relevant? Do witnesses feel they are used punitively? I have seen take away tests being taken away and people having to turn up daily. Some doctors have said not to mind about urine tests and that they will deal with the person, while another doctor insist on them. What are the witnesses' thoughts on that?