Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 551: To ask the Minister for Justice and Law Reform the number of mobile phones seized in prisons in each of the years 2008, 2009 and 2010 and to detail in respect of each year the numbers seized in each prison in the State. [48543/10]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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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 on 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. In addition, the provision of netting over prison yards has provided an effective deterrent to individuals who might otherwise have sought to throw contraband, including phones, over the prison walls. Indeed, local intelligence indicates that the availability of mobile phones has decreased across the prison system. This is as a direct consequence of the security measures in place in our prisons.

Details of mobile seizures are set out in the following table.

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 552: To ask the Minister for Justice and Law Reform further to Parliamentary Question Nos. 147 and 148 of 17 November 2010, in the context of 1,387 mobile phone seizures in prisons during the first nine months of 2010, his promise that the Central Statistics Office would furnish this Deputy with the number of prosecutions initiated as a consequence of the finding and seizure of such mobile phones during said period and the number of prosecutions initiated in 2008 and 2009 following the seizure of such phones, if his attention has been drawn to the fact that such information is not compiled by the Central Statistics Office, that the only information maintained with regard to prosecutions of prisoners applies to a general category of prisoner offences; the reason such information is not maintained; and if his further attention has been drawn to any prosecutions taken against a prisoner for unlawful possession of a mobile phone in prison in 2008, 2009 or 2010. [48544/10]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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In my reply to Parliamentary Questions Nos 147 and 148 of 17 November, 2010 I stated that I had asked the Central Statistics Office to supply statistics directly to the Deputy, as the Garda Síochána Act 2005 makes provision for the compilation and publication of crime statistics by the Office, as the national statistical agency.

In my reply to the Deputy's Parliamentary Question No 147 of 15 December, 2010 I noted that the CSO had provided to the Deputy statistics in respect of 2007 and 2008 on the numbers of recorded prison offences which led to criminal proceedings and convictions; that, as explained to the Deputy by the Office, statistics in respect of 2009 and 2010 were not available; and that more detailed statistics than those provided were not available.

I understand that statistics in respect of 2009 will be available in the near future.

The Statistics Act 1993 provides that the Central Statistics Office has sole responsibility for and is independent in deciding the statistical methodology used by the Office and the content of statistical releases and publications issued by it.