Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 238: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of mobile telephones seized from prisoners at Mountjoy and St. Patrick's Institution in 2009 and to date in 2010; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17684/10]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I wish to advise the Deputy that Section 36 of the Prisons Act, 2007 which makes it an offence for prisoners to have unauthorised possession of or use of mobile telecommunication devices was brought into operation on 1 May, 2007, Under the Act it is also an offence to supply such a device to a prisoner. The penalties for such an offence, on summary conviction, include a fine not exceeding €5,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or both, and on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding €10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or both. It is Irish Prison Service policy to report and hand over seizures of mobile phones to the Gardaí.

Cell and area searches for contraband such as mobile phones take place in all prisons on a daily basis. These include random, targeted and intelligence led searches. These searches have been particularly effective and local intelligence indicates that the availability of mobile phones has decreased across the prison system. Details of mobile seizures are set out in the table below. For clarity it is important to note that not all of the phones were confiscated directly from prisoners but were instead retrieved at entry point or before they get to the prisoner population. This is as a direct consequence of newly introduced enhanced security measures including airport style scanners and x-ray machines, which are in operation at the entrances of all the relevant closed prisons.

Details of mobile seizures for 2009 and figures to 18 April 2010 are set out in the table.