Efforts to bring successful rehab to prisons

A study of a drug-treatment programme has found that almost three-quarters of clients said they were still drug-free two years after enrolling.

Staff at the Coolmine Therapeutic Community (CTC) in Dublin want to begin a similar programme in prisons. They also called for more beds to cater for women who want to beat their drug addictions, but who want to bring their children with them while undergoing therapy.

The Coolmine Therapeutic Community (CTC), first set up in 1973, operates three key treatment programmes, each split in to three phases: Primary treatment, either residential and with daily attendance, which lasts five months; stepdown, which can last from two to six months; and aftercare, which lasts five months.