Prisoners to be given access to fertility treatment

Currently, prisoners in Irish jails have no right to conjugal visits, meaning they cannot have sex with a spouse or partner in prisons. File photo

Prisoners are set to be given access to fertility treatment while behind bars.

Senator Mary Seery Kearney spoke with prison officials in recent days after receiving a number of queries from members of the public. She said a scheme, which will be part of the Assisted Reproduction Bill, will allow prisoners to take part in fertility treatment and the service will be available to men and women.

Ms Seery Kearney told the Irish Examiner: “In so far as prisoners have entitlements behind bars, this should be the same. It will mean for men and women behind bars, they will be able to go through IVF and intrauterine insemination (IUI) or continue treatment if they are in the middle of it when they go into prison.

“I asked the Prison Service about the matter, and they were very welcoming of my point and the situation and they said, as a State scheme, there is no reason why a prisoner can’t avail."

The IVF scheme is due to come into force this year when the Assisted Reproduction Bill is passed, but there are amendments arising out of international surrogacy law.

“We are hoping the legislation will be passed by the summer with a view to the scheme being rolled out in September, but we have to wait for regulation over clinics. That hasn’t happened yet," Ms Seery Kearney said.

Currently, prisoners in Irish jails have no right to conjugal visits, meaning they cannot have sex with a spouse or partner in prisons. Ms Seery Kearney said: “I had a number of women who have contacted me about IVF treatment while their partners are in prison. 

"If there is someone in jail for a long sentence, the man or woman’s ability to grow their family is curtailed. Inmates in Ireland’s prison will be able to apply for IVF treatment while behind bars under this scheme. There is no reason why they wouldn’t be.” 

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Speaking at the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters with the Prison Service, Ms Seery Kearney said the inability to be able to grow a family over a prison sentence is traumatic.

Director general of the Irish Prison Service, Caron McCaffrey, said: “We provide equivalence of care to that which you can get in a community so all of your issues are dealt with in a holistic manner, so if you are presenting with an issue such as that then it will obviously be addressed by the healthcare team.

"We need to be very clear that just because you are in custody, the only right you’ve lost is your right to liberty, you haven’t lost your other rights, including your right to family life and we do a lot, and as much as we can, to support the links with your family. So certainly, all of your needs, all of the issues presented, are addressed by our health care team.”