There are now 2,014 inmates receiving the opiate substitute annually -- a big rise on previous years, new figures reveal.
The total compares with 1,840 in 2007 and 1,579 in 2006.
The methadone programme, which deals with detox, stabilisation and maintenance issues, has been in operation since 2003. It is currently available in eight of the 14 places of detention, accommodating more than 80pc of the prison population.
The medical unit in Mountjoy jail also has nine spaces specifically allocated for a six-week intensive therapeutic drug-free programme, while an addiction counselling service, contracted out to Merchants Quay Ireland, delivers 1,000 hours a week to prisoners.
Last week's annual conference of the Prison Officers Association heard that the prison population is expected to continue to grow, leading to big problems with overcrowding in several jails, particularly Mountjoy where emergency measures are in place to cope with the overflow of inmates.
The provision of an additional 400 prison spaces in the summer is likely to provide a short-term solution to the cell space shortage.
But the problem cannot be tackled properly until the delayed jail building projects at Thornton Hall north Co Dublinand Kilworth in Co Cork are completed, and those targets will not be achieved until at least the end of 2011.
Source: Tom Brady, The Irish Independent, 05/04/2009
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