127. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Justice the number of prisoners unable to access education, vocational workshops or drug treatment programmes due to capacity constraints in 2024; and the percentage shortfall relative to assessed need. [21479/25]

Jim O'Callaghan, Minister for Justice: I would like to advise the Deputy that the Irish Prison Service have confirmed that educational opportunities are available in all prisons and all prisoners are eligible to avail of these opportunities.

All prisoners are encouraged to attend education. Those who attend, engage in an education interview with the Head or Deputy Head Teacher where they discuss and agree their individual student timetable. Numbers who can attend the education unit in each prison is determined by factors such as education subject, size of the classroom and the number of prisoners who are interested in that subject. The average participation rate for Education in 2024 was 45% of the prisoner population.

The Department of Education provides an allocation of 220 whole time equivalent teachers to the Irish Prison Service through the Education and Training Boards.

I am advised that the Irish Prison Service is not in a position to provide specific data on the number of prisoners unable to access education, vocational workshops or drug treatment programmes due to the variables that impact access. Access to services can be affected on a daily basis by a range of factors including staffing levels, healthcare emergencies, waiting lists, for operational reasons e.g. cell and landing searches and due to a prisoner status, i.e. protection prisoners and remand.

I have also been advised that work training is also available in all prisons, with all prisoners encouraged to engage in some work training activity which provides constructive routine during time spent in custody. A wide range of training workshops operate within the institutions e.g. printing, hairdressing, braille, woodwork, metalwork, construction, industrial cleaning, crafts and horticulture. Many of these activities now provide certified training.

The work training function, staffed by Irish Prison Service Work Training Officers, also includes engagement in essential services such as catering and laundry services by prisoners. Workshop sizes and numbers of prisoners who can attend workshops may be determined by factors such as type of workshop, capacity of workshop and the number of prisoners who are interested in and assessed as suitable for participation in that workshop. The average participation rate for work training in 2024 was 19% of the prisoner population.

Furthermore, the Irish Prison Service provides a health care service for prisoners with addictions in a structured, safe and professional way in line with international best practice. It is the policy of the Irish Prison Service that, where a person committed to prison gives a history of opiate use and tests positive for opioids, they are offered a medically assisted, symptomatic detoxification, if clinically indicated.

Prisoners can, as part of the assessment process, discuss other treatment options with healthcare staff. Those treatment options may include stabilisation on methadone maintenance, addiction counselling, recovery college, and psychological intervention. 12.25% of the prisoner population were on methadone maintenance therapy as at 28th of April, 2025.

The Treatment and Recovery Programme (TARP) is a bespoke programme that was developed in 2022 by Merchants Quay Ireland in partnership with the Irish Prison Service. It supports prisoners who have become drug free in prison to continue their recovery and to support them to continue to lead a drug free life both whilst in prison and post release.

TARP is an eight-week programme, incorporating elements of a residential treatment centre, where the participants are drug free, occupy a self-contained sterile environment and engage in a programme of activities which include psychoeducational, individual and group therapeutic, somatic and life skills elements. Participants enter a stabilisation zone for a number of weeks prior to admittance to the TARP programme. The TARP programme currently runs with nine participants in each group.