Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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638. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 identified in the prison system to date in 2020, by the number of prisoners, prison officers and prison location. [35223/20]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy will be aware that the Irish Prison Service has put in place an extensive range of measures to prevent Covid-19 transmission within prisons, detect early any possible infection in a prisoner or staff member and prevent the spread of infection should there be a confirmed case.

The measures which have been introduced, guided by the advice of the National Public Health Emergency Team and consistent with the prison specific guidance for the management of Covid-19 issued by the World Health Organisation and guidance of the Council of Europe, include:

- The introduction of a basic health check, including taking of temperatures for all persons, including staff, entering prisons since 29 March 2020;

- The ongoing review of the provision of physical family visits, replaced by the introduction of video visits in line with local county restrictions on movement;

- In conjunction with the HSE, facilitating the testing of all new committals to the prisons at an early stage, which will allow for the prisoner to exit quarantine and enter the general population at an earlier stage, provided test results are negative;

- Isolation of suspected case or prisoner with symptoms to prevent the risk of transmission of infection;

- The provision of cocooned accommodation for vulnerable prisoners including all prisoners aged 70 years or more or those that are deemed medically vulnerable;

- Comprehensive training for IPS staff and the provision of appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) across the prison estate;

- Conducting of risk assessments and putting in additional controls where identified, such as the mandatory wearing of surgical masks for staff in areas which have been highlighted as locations where social distancing is difficult or cannot be maintained;

- A number of Standard Operating Procedures in place for the distribution of PPE, as well as the donning and doffing of PPE and Infection Control measures which are kept under consent review;

- Strong communication with staff and prisoners, including two prison newsletters and regular Covid-19 information leaflets for prisoners and newsletters for staff regarding actions taken; and

- Establishment of a robust contract tracing model which has been acknowledged by the World Health Organisation as best practice

The Irish Prison Service continues to manage the risks and challenges faced in a prison context during the Covid-19 pandemic in line with public health guidelines. In doing so, it maintains a close working relationship with my Department, relevant criminal justice authorities, the National Public Health Emergency Team and the HSE.

I am advised by the Irish Prison Service that as of 9 November 2020 there have been 15 confirmed cases of Covid-19 identified amongst the prisoner population. I have been advised that of the 15 cases, 8 were community based infections and were detected by the early intervention testing of all new committals to the prisons. The remaining 7 cases were prisoners in general population. Table 1 provides figures per location.

The Irish Prison Service further advise me that they can only provide details relating to prisoners and details relating to Prison Staff are a matter for Public Health HSE and are not released for operational and confidentiality reasons.