Pubdate: Sat, 30 Mar 2002
Source: Irish Examiner (Ireland)
Copyright: Examiner Publications Ltd, 2002
Contact:  http://www.examiner.ie/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/144
Author: Cormac O'Keeffe
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?143 (Hepatitis)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?137 (Needle Exchange)

Anger At Jail Plan To Give Addicts Syringe-Cleaners

PRISON officers are objecting to plans to distribute syringe-cleaning 
tablets to jailed heroin addicts. Wardens say the bleach tablets will not 
clean syringes of the most dangerous and widespread disease - hepatitis. 
They fear the next step will be to distribute clean syringes, which 
officers say is like giving out a loaded gun.

"Prison officers have a huge concern. If you introduce bleach tablets to 
clean syringes, one thing it won't clean is the most dangerous virus, 
hepatitis C," said Prison Officers' association president Eugene Dennehy. 
"We're concerned that the next logical step, not today or tomorrow, but two 
or three years down the road, is a needle exchange in prison. This needle 
is worse than a loaded gun to our guys." An estimated 70% of intravenous 
drug-users in prison have hepatitis C.

Mr Dennehy said the first time staff heard of this initiative was on a 
notice board in Mountjoy Jail.

"It was a huge shock to staff to see this notice, without every being 
appraised of it. These officers are threatened with needles every day and 
then they see this." He said staff in Mountjoy and certain other jails face 
being infected every day by a hardcore minority of syringe-wielding 
criminals and addicts. "Look at the victims of needle stick injury. When 
you see a prison officer who is almost strangling his son when he sees him 
using his razor in case he gets infected or an officer who can't have any 
relationship with his wife. That's what officers face on a daily basis." He 
said officers also have to deal with the nasty habit of some prisoners who 
break off the tips of needles and stick them underneath the cell door 
handle with some blue tack.

"The officer comes along, opens the door, cuts his hand. So you can 
understand the anger when officers hear about giving bleach tablets to 
these fellas."

Mr Dennehy said Prison Service director general Sean Aylward had said that 
he had no intention of introducing needle exchanges. "He mightn't now, but 
down the road, he might, when the bleach tablets are not working." Mr 
Dennehy said officers would have no problem with tablets if they were part 
of a comprehensive plan to deal with the drugs problem.

"If they are really serious, they should introduce a number of measures, 
including more drug-free areas in prison; more emphasis on treatment and 
more steps to stop drugs getting into prison.

"Then we might look at bleach tablets. But on their own, they're just a 
cosmetic exercise and that's not good enough." The Prison Service was not 
contactable yesterday.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom