25th November 2003
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72. Mr. Cuffe asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform when the service level agreement referred to in the Government's response to the CPT, and originally promised by the end of 2002 will be ready. [23433/03]
Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Mr. McDowell): In recognition of the need to tackle the underlying issue of the delays in the provision of in-patient psychiatric care to mentally ill prisoners, arrangements were made for the Irish Prison Service and the East Coast Area Health Board to draw up a service level agreement on the admission to the Central Mental Hospital of mentally ill prisoners and their treatment there.
A working group charged with drawing up this agreement has met on a regular basis since October 2002 and recently submitted a draft agreement for consideration. The draft agreement and its implementation is currently under consideration by myself and my colleague, the Minister for Health and Children.
Respect for rights in the penal system with prison as a last resort.