Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

I will explain. It is only since last October that prison staff have the power to carry out random mandatory drug tests on prisoners. This was not previously available and drug testing was, therefore, primarily targeted at those prisoners suspected of taking drugs or who had a known history of drug misuse. The figures should not be taken as an indicator of drug misuse across the wider prison population.

See this speech in context