Almost 1,200 prisoners avail of drug counselling

THE number of prisoners accessing drug counselling in jail has now reached almost 1,200 while 34 people are on a waiting list for drug treatment programmes.

New figures from the Irish Prison Service show just 34 people — 23 of whom are in Mountjoy — were awaiting a place on a drug treatment programme.

However, the prison service also revealed that 1,196 prisoners engaged with the Merchants Quay Addiction Counselling Service over 2010 — and 57% of clients had never before been engaged in treatment.