Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 58: To ask the Minister for Justice and Law Reform the number of drug seizures in each of our prisons from 1 January 2010 to 30 September 2010 [39468/10]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The Irish Prison Service has introduced a range of measures in all closed prisons to prevent the flow of and assist in the capture of contraband such as illicit drugs. These include: The introduction of enhanced security screening for all persons (visitors and staff) entering our prisons; The establishment of a drug detection dog service within the Irish Prison Service involving approximately 30 handling teams; The establishment of Operational Support Units dedicated to and developing expertise in searching and gathering intelligence on illicit material being hidden inside our prisons; they will be available in addition to the normal prison staff and can target specific security problem areas; The introduction of Body Orifice Security Scanner (BOSS) chairs for the searching of prisoners on entering/leaving the prison; and The erecting of netting over exercise yards in closed prisons to counteract drugs being thrown over perimeter walls.

Other preventative measures include cell and area searches for contraband such as drugs which take place in all prisons on a daily basis. These include random, targeted and intelligence led searches. These security measures have had considerable success to date and I am determined to support Prison management to take all reasonable measures to ensure that we continue to stem the flow of illicit substances into our prisons.

I wish to inform the Deputy that the number of drug seizures at each prison, including seizures at point of entry, from 1 January 2010 up to and including 3 October 2010 are set out in the table below.