Prison bosses are to trial a new technology to tackle the rising threat posed by drones smuggling drugs and weapons into prison.

Penal reformers have welcomed the massive drop in people being jailed for non-payment of court fines — but are concerned at the rise in prison numbers caused by more committals for non-fine offences.

For many decades, people were sent to prison, no matter how briefly, over the non-payment of fines.

A number of improvised weapons seized by the Irish Prison Service have gone on display at a tourist attraction which was itself once the largest jail in the world.

The Irish Prison Service (IPS) paid nearly €30,000 to two private investigation firms, it has emerged, as an investigation continues into claims that officers were tracked and monitored during covert surveillance on the country’s prisons.

With confirmation that the prison service has employed two private investigation firms, we do not know what service they provided, writes Michael Clifford.

Five prison officers have come forward to make sexual harassment protected disclosure complaints since last summer amid concerns over the safety of staff in their workplace.

Five prison officers have come forward to make sexual harassment protected disclosure complaints since last summer amid concerns over the safety of staff in their workplace.

The official Prison Service line is that whistleblowers are welcomed, but the reality on the ground is very different, says Special Correspondent Michael Clifford.

A new director general was appointed to the Irish Prison Service last month, but the picture painted of the system by the minister was questionable, writes Michael Clifford.

A serving prison officer claims covert surveillance, including tracking devices on vehicles and listening tools in visiting areas, is being used in an effort to detect the smuggling of contraband into prisons, writes Michael Clifford.

The Irish Prison Service says up to 14 major gangs are operating in the country's jails.

The Prison Officers Association now has to decide if it is safe for its members to work as civilians in State-sponsored jails, writes John Cuffe.

A major rift has opened up among management in the Irish Prison Service (IPS) amid allegations about bullying, intimidation, and the monitoring of communications.

The Prison Service has admitted it needs to do more to tackle the flow of contraband into jails after another rise in the seizures of phones, drugs and weapons.

A formal investigation has yet to be initiated into a protected disclosure in the Irish Prison Service (IPS) alleging sexual harassment, a payout in compensation, and the deployment of the individual involved in another state agency where he has contact with minors, writes Michael Clifford.

The loans were for a variety of purposes, including the purchase of games consoles and stereos, and for the cost of communions and confirmations.

Inmates have been given €498,708 in interest-free loans by the Irish Prison Service in the past three years.

A whistleblower in the Irish Prison Service has written to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar complaining that his family is in danger of losing their home over financial penalties being imposed on him because he made claims of malpractice.

The possibility of the HSE running prison healthcare services instead of the Irish Prison Service (IPS) is currently under discussion, the UN Committee Against Torture (UNCAT) has heard.

This campaign is the first competition for recruit Prison Officers to be held for the Irish Prison Service since 2008.

Profits at the uniform supply firm that counts the Garda and the Irish Prison Service amongst its major customers dropped 34% in 2014.

Since 2014 the Irish Prison Service has bought 2,505 televisions for inmates at a cost of over €440,000.

The Irish Prison Service has accused drivers with the Escort Corp of engaging in "wildcat" industrial action.

The man who heads up Irish jails said yesterday that “a humane prison service is about trying to take people who are broken and build them back up again”.

Eamonn Lillis, who brutally killed his wife on the patio of their Dublin home almost seven years ago, is expected to be a free man this week-end.