Reformers call for jail clean needle plan

PENAL reformers yesterday told UN drug chiefs that clean needles should be made available in prisons to cut the spread of infectious diseases, such as hepatitis and HIV.

The Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) was invited to give a presentation on the matter to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) at their office in Vienna, Austria.

Rick Lines of the IPRT said the provision of clean syringes by prison management to prisoners reduced the spread of HIV and hepatitis C, which were rampant in many prisons.