Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 202: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, further to Parliamentary Question No. 317 of 2 February 2005, the reason no statistical information was available to him about persons apprehended passing drugs to other persons in prison. [4324/05]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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As indicated in my response to Parliamentary Question No. 317 of 2 February 2005, to attempt to compile this material would entail examination of a large number of records in each institution going back over the last three years. This research would be a very staff intensive exercise and, in the current climate, I am not in a position to recommend that governors divert staff from other duties or to incur additional costs through overtime in order to compile these data.

As the Deputy is aware, I am determined to restructure prison costs and working arrangements to ensure that more resources — staff and finance — are available in the interest of greater efficiency. Negotiations are underway with the Prison Officers' Association on proposals aimed at achieving this objective. In the interim, as the Deputy may be aware, the Irish Prison Service has succeeded in achieving major cuts in expenditure in the last year. However, these cuts cannot be achieved without some effect on services, including compilation of statistics.

I have asked the director general of the Irish Prison Service to ensure that, when the prison costs issue has been resolved, a standard approach be adopted throughout the prisons to statistical reporting of contraband, including seizure of drugs.