The Irish Prison Service expects to pay as much as €3 million for regular check-ups, fillings and other dental services provided to inmates in seven of its 12 detention facilities over the next eight years.
Six of the seven prisons have fully equipped dental surgeries on their campuses, while treatment is provided off-site in the case of the open centre at Shelton Abbey in Co Wicklow.
The anticipated outlay excludes major institutions like Mountjoy and Cloverhill and does not take into account the cost of providing equipment and consumables for dentists at the in-house surgeries.
