Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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1298. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the funds that have been allocated by her Department to the Irish Prison Service from 2012 to present for inmates in the Midlands Prison who have Crohn's disease, diabetes, colitis or other illnesses heavily dependent on special dietary needs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29367/22]

Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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1299. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the average waiting time for an inmate in the Midlands Prison with special dietary needs to attend a dietician from date of a prison referral to the date of attendance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29368/22]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1298 and 1299 together.

I am advised that the Irish Prison Service provides a primary health care service for prisoners at all sites across the prison estate and that prisoners are eligible for specialist referral if required. The Prison Service aims to provide prisoners with access to the same scope and quality of health services available under the General Medical Card scheme in the wider community.

I am advised that the specific information on the average waiting time for an inmate in the Midlands Prison with special dietary needs to attend a dietician from date of a prison referral to the date of attendance is not recorded centrally. Extracting this information from the Prisoner Healthcare Management System would require a manual examination of individual prisoner records which would take an inordinate amount of time and staff resources.

If a prisoner is referred by the health care team in the Midlands Prison to the Health Services Executive for a dietetic review, the process is then managed by the Executive. The average waiting time to attend a consultation with a dietician would be equivalent to patients with similar needs in the wider community.

The Prison Service caters daily to the nutritional needs of approximately 4,000 prisoners in it's custody. Under the Prisons Vote, funding is provided on a broad basis to meets the costs of catering for prisoners in all prisons and with a range of dietary requirements. Within the Service, provision is made for annual catering budgets for each prison to cater for all diets. Prisons are transitory in nature and dietary requirements will vary on a weekly and/or daily basis. The Prison Service Catering Service provides a nutritionally balanced, varied diet to all prisoners through the 28 day menu which also caters for vegetarian and special diets. The menu is kept under active review and is designed to deliver 2,500 calories for men and 2000 calories for women, in line with FSAI guidelines.

Patrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party)
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1300. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality , further to Parliamentary Question No. 560 of 31 May, the level of vaccination that is required for critical mass at Cloverhill Prison; the current level of vaccination; and the procedures that are in place for prisoners who are vaccinated and wish to enjoy the re-instated rights and visitations as is in other prisons in the State to transfer to those prisons. [29406/22]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I can advise the Deputy that the restoration of prison regimes, including the restoration of physical visits, was implemented in July of 2021 in line with the vaccination status of the general prison population. As such, the restoration of physical visits to Cloverhill Prison was deferred at the time given the low vaccination acceptance in the prison which was significantly less than other prisons across the estate.

I can advise that physical visits recommenced at Cloverhill Prison in September, 2021, and all prisoners, with the exception of those in quarantine or isolation for Covid-19 reasons, have access to physical visits.

The Irish Prison Service has recently updated its quarantine procedures for new committals and as a result, new committals are now tested on the day of arrival and if a negative test result is returned they can enter general population on day four.

The Prison Service worked in partnership with the National Ambulance Service and the Health Service Executive since Covid-19 vaccinations became available to administer, as swiftly as possible, vaccinations to all those eligible and who consented to be vaccinated.

Whilst the idea has been to strive for maximum uptake of the vaccine, the reality in Cloverhill Prison is that the uptake was significantly less than in most other Prison Service locations. All prisoners arriving at Cloverhill, are canvassed for their vaccination status and arrangements are put in place to facilitate their vaccination schedule at the earliest opportunity. Currently the Prison Service accommodates first, second and both booster doses of the vaccine as clinically indicated and the Service works in conjunction with the HSE to ensure that the individual’s vaccine status is co-ordinated from both a pre and post custody perspective.