Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I apologise on behalf of the Tánaiste, who could not be here to take the debate. The Tánaiste wishes to emphasise that the provision of health care is a statutory obligation of the Irish Prison Service, as defined in the prison rules of 2007. She assures the Senator that the care and rehabilitation of persons in custody is a core aim of the Irish Prison Service. The IPS health care standards outline its commitment to provide equivalence of care to the prisoner population in custody. In this regard, the prison health care service seeks to provide prisoners with access to the same range and quality of health care services as are available under the medical card scheme in the community.

Nursing care in the prison service has, historically, been provided by a group of staff referred to as medical orderlies, who are prison officers with some basic first-aid training. In 1999, qualified registered nurses were first introduced to the Irish Prison Service. The drivers of this development were mainly external and came from the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the Penal Reform Trust, the Olden report and others. The introduction of professional nursing services into the prison system greatly improved the quality and standard of care. A prison nurse will generally work under the direction of a chief nurse officer and in partnership with prison doctors, while overall responsibility for the management of a prison or place of detention rests with the governor of the institution concerned.

In recent years, the Irish Prison Service has experienced difficulties in recruiting nurses to work in prisons. The 2015 competition conducted by the Public Appointments Service has resulted in 15 nurse appointments to date, and the IPS has been advised that the panel will not generate any further nurses for Dublin prisons. Notwithstanding these difficulties, the IPS has recently concluded a comprehensive health care review which will provide for the deployment of nursing resources to prisons throughout the estate on a more consistent basis.

The Tánaiste advises the Senator that the IPS worked with the review partners to ensure that nurse resourcing in all Irish prisons is commensurate with the population of the prison, the profile of prisoners and the health care needs of the prison population. The revised level of night nursing cover is considered appropriate in the context of demands for health care provision during the night shift. Cloverhill carries out the bulk of its health care activity during the day, and night-time nursing activity tends to be concentrated between the hours of 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. Following analysis, a proposal to enhance nursing resources at Cloverhill Prison was approved between IPS management and staffing representatives. A prison nurse is responsible for maintaining a safe and clean clinical environment and will function as a primary health care provider. The role of nursing staff encompasses not only general nursing care but also other services such as counselling, health education and promotion, and preventative medicine. A prison nurse is required to maintain the highest standard of nursing care and to participate in a multidisciplinary team while also having regard to, and a clear understanding of, safe custody of an offender. In addition, the prison nurse helps to create and maintain a therapeutic environment within the prison as a whole and works with doctors, other nurses and prison staff as a professional member of a therapeutic team.

The Tánaiste reiterates that the review of nursing at Cloverhill Prison enhances our resource allocation in that institution and is wholly appropriate in the context of demands in the prison during the night shift.