IT TAKES THREE months for the Irish Prison Service to receive the results of tests conducted on suspected drugs, politicians have been told.

The turnaround can be expedited in emergency cases but still takes 24 to 48 hours, the Irish Prison Service has revealed.

The Oireachtas Committee on Drug Use is convening this morning to hear from representatives of the Irish Prison Service and the Citywide Drugs Crisis Campaign about drug use and a health-led approach to addiction.

The Irish Prison Service outlined to the committee that 70% of people in custody are struggling with addiction.

Its Drugs Strategy is centred around reducing the amount of contraband that enters prisons, provide education about the effects of drug use, and increase and improve medical and therapeutic interventions and services for prisoners living with addiction.

During questioning, Green Party TD Neasa Hourigan asked about the process of testing drug substances found in prisons.

“If the substance is seized within the prison, which happens regularly, the substance is stored securely,” a representative of the Irish Prison Service said.

“Members of An Garda Síochána come to pick up the substance and transport it and get results. That can take weeks to months before we get results from that substance.”

Hourigan interjected to ask about the average wait time.

It was revealed that the average wait time is three months.

“Three months to get a substance tested?” Hourigan said.

The representative continued to say that if there has been a clinical incident related to a substance – that is, an overdose or death – then the result can be provided in 24 to 48 hours. 

Hourigan described the situation as “crazy”. The representative agreed that after waiting three months for a test result, “the horse has bolted”.

Addressing the chair of the committee, People Before Profit TD Gino Kenny, Hourigan said that a “very specific, useful” action for the committee would be to support the Irish Prison Service in securing it access to a more rapid testing process.

The Irish Prison Service’s opening statement delivered by Director General Caron McCaffrey told the committee that the waiting list for addiction counselling in prisons is longer than the number of prisoners currently able to access it.

As of July 2024, over 600 prisoners were engaged in addiction counselling and more than 800 awaiting access.

“This shows the scale of the problem which has been exacerbated by the ever-increasing prisoner population,” McCaffrey said.

She said that “addiction is not a problem that can be solved overnight, but with targeted resources and collaboration, we can make a real difference”.

Citywide, a network fo roganisations and activities campaigning for a community development response to drugs, said that people are being failed by “systemic dysfunction”.

Representing Citywide, Anna Quiqley said that the starting point to address the problem needs to be a “social analysis that looks at both the context and the causes of drug-related harms”.

Calling for decriminalisation, Quigley said: “One of the very clear messages from our social analysis is that there is no basis  whatsoever for maintaining a policy of criminalising people who use drugs.”

“This has  been supported by the evidence from a range of international speakers; it is also our experience in the community that a policy of criminalisation has the effect of  undermining every other positive action that we might take. We need to end it now.”

Quigley also said that community development and investment in services are crucial.

“Our experience over 30 years, and the experience in Portugal over 20 plus years,  highlight how essential it is, as we move towards ending criminalisation of people who use drugs, that we invest in a range of addiction services that are appropriate to people’s needs and in related social services for those who need them,” she said, pointing to housing, employment supports, mental health, childcare, and psychology services.