Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

I assure Deputy Charles Flanagan that the dogs are on the way and the handlers are being trained. I am not aware of what promises I have made in this area but I very much believe in action. I will supply the Deputy with the information about the evaluator, but on my appointment I found I did not need an evaluator to tell me about the extent of this problem. I went to Government and got a decision to take a number of practical measures needed to address it. Those measures are now being implemented. I hope they will work given time. They involve much tighter control and monitoring of all prisoner visits in all closed prisons. Deputy Charles Flanagan and other Deputies will be aware this led to some industrial relations difficulties before Christmas but I am glad to say they have been resolved.

They also involve new visiting arrangements in most closed prisons with visitors required to be preapproved by the governor and required to prove identification on each visit; increased random searching of cells and their occupants; airport-type security to which Deputy Flanagan referred; the introduction of modern cameras and probe systems to search difficult areas; the introduction of enhanced security screening for all persons — visitors and staff — entering the prisons; the establishment of the drug detection dog service to which I referred; and the operational support unit which will operate outside the existing Prison Service staff, subject to a governor in each prison. It will operate as a separate intelligence unit, gathering information in this area and targeting those responsible for the illicit supply of drugs into prisons.

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