Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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416. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of recorded drone incursions at each prison in the State in the past five years, broken down by year and by institution, and the types of contraband recovered from those incidents. [67737/25]

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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417. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the total quantity and classification of contraband recovered following drone incursions into prisons since 2020, including drugs, weapons, mobile phones, SIM cards, and other prohibited items. [67738/25]

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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418. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the current security technology in place in each prison to detect, deter, or disable drone incursions; the date each system was installed; and the planned upgrades for 2026. [67739/25]

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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419. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the current staffing levels assigned to perimeter security in each prison; the standard operating procedures for responding to drone incursions; and the number of times these procedures were activated in the past three years. [67740/25]

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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422. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the estimated financial impact on the prison system arising from drone-related contraband since 2020, including security responses, detection equipment, staff overtime, drug-treatment interventions, and property damage. [67743/25]

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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423. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if he will publish the most recent internal risk assessment relating to drone incursions into prisons, including risk ratings, mitigation measures, and outstanding vulnerabilities identified. [67744/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 416, 417, 418, 419, 422 and 423 together.

It is proposed to take 67737/25, 67738/25, 67739/25,67740/25, 67743/25, and 67744/25 together.

I am advised by my officials that the Irish Prison Service addresses drone incursions across the prison estate by deploying all appropriate dynamic security measures responding to the nature and level of the threat in each instance.

In relation to the staffing and technology in place, the Irish Prison Service does not disclose detailed operational information that could compromise the integrity, security, or safety of any prison establishment. The controlled management of security-related information is a core component of maintaining a safe and secure custodial environment for staff, prisoners, and the wider community.

At this point in time it is not possible to collate the information sought regarding the financial impact, as work to reduce incursions of contraband to prison environments involves a range of collaborative actions involving multiple agencies. I can however, advise the Deputy that the Irish Prison Service has invested €5 million to date in the nationwide installation of metallic mesh netting to prevent and reduce drone-enabled contraband drops.

The Irish Prison Service, together with An Garda Síochána, have completed several very successful collaborative operations in the past year delivering significant results, including multiple arrests and prosecutions linked to attempts to introduce drugs and other contraband into prisons by drone or throw-over. This intelligence-led, multi-agency co-operation is effectively disrupting and detecting attempted delivery of contraband into prisons and improving communication pathways regarding supply, availability, typology and impact of illicit substances in prisons.

In relation to the number of drone incursions at each prison, the Irish Prison Service Operational Support Group did not commence documenting a consistent central record of drone incidents until July 2024, when the prevalence of this type of incident increased. The figures provided in Table 1 below are of reports recorded from 1 January 2025 to 27 November 2025:

Table 1: Number of drone incidents recorded per prison in 2024 and 2025

Table 2 below sets out the record of items of contraband seized by the Irish Prison Service. Items recovered from drone incursions are not recorded separately to items recovered in other operations across the prison estate.

Table 2: Contraband seizures in Irish Prison Service 2016-2025

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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420. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of criminal investigations initiated as a result of drone-related contraband entering the prison system since 2020; the number of arrests; the number of charges; and the number of convictions secured. [67741/25]

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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421. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if his Department has conducted any assessment of links between drone-delivered contraband and organised criminal groups; and if he will outline the findings of any such assessments. [67742/25]

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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424. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if his Department has examined international counter-drone models used in the UK, Canada, or the Netherlands for prison protection; and if he will provide details of any pilot projects or procurement considerations underway. [67745/25]

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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425. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality whether additional statutory powers are required by the Prison Service or An Garda Síochána to disable or intercept drones approaching prison facilities; and if he will outline any planned legislative proposals. [67746/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 420, 421, 424 and 425 together.

I am very aware that the flow of contraband is one of the most pressing issues affecting security and safety in our prisons. Preventing the access of contraband, including drugs, into prisons is a high priority for the Irish Prison Service, and it continues to examine technologies that might assist in making our prisons more secure, including anti-drone technologies. If suitable technologies are identified then the IPS will proceed with the procurement and installation of same.

The Irish Prison Service is working to enhance yard security in prisons and has invested €5 million to-date on the installation of metallic mesh netting to prevent and reduce drone-enabled contraband drops and this is proving effective.

Over the course of 2024 and to-date in 2025, enhanced netting has been installed at two prisons. To-date, there have been no successful contraband deliveries to the yards where a new netting solution has been employed.

The Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of Garda business under Section 26 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005 (as amended), which includes the investigation of allegations of criminal conduct. To be of assistance to the Deputy, I have made enquiries with my colleagues in An Garda Síochána who advise that, following a search of the Pulse database there is no standard operation ID, incident type or offence code available to reliably capture the data requested by the Deputy.

However, I can advise the Deputy that the Irish Prison Service together with An Garda Síochána have completed several very successful collaborative operations in the past year delivering significant results, including multiple arrests and prosecutions linked to attempts to introduce drugs and other contraband into prisons by drone or throw-over. This intelligence-led, multi-agency co-operation is effectively disrupting and detecting attempted delivery of contraband into prisons and improving communication pathways regarding supply, availability, typology and impact of illicit substances in prisons.

In May of this year, the Irish Prison Service and An Garda Síochána signed a Memorandum of Understanding to formalise a framework for interagency cooperation. The Memorandum of Understanding was developed to enable the two organisations to work in partnership to prioritise cooperation in tackling organised crime, drug dealing and contraband smuggling.

I am further advised by An Garda Síochána that, while the methods currently employed in the use of drone technology and delivery of drugs into prisons is indicative of organised criminal gang (OCG) involvement, at this time there is no hard data suggesting any one particular gang is responsible for it.