Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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Question 720: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of mobile phones seized at each prison here for the years 2010, 2011 and to date in 2012; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27445/12]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Section 36 of the Prisons Act, 2007, which was brought into operation on 1 May, 2007, makes it an offence for prisoners to have unauthorised possession of or use of mobile telecommunication devices. 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 or 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 as requested are set out in the table below. 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 got to the prisoner population. This is as a direct consequence of security measures currently in place including airport style scanners and x-ray machines, which are in operation at the entrances of all the relevant closed prisons.

Figures for 2011/2012 are provisional pending the publications of their respective annual reports.