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

Two prison units are being opened and 100 cells are being 'doubled up' in a bid to deal with a resurgence in overcrowding in prisons.

There has been a surge in the number of prisoners put on protection for their own safety, with the sharpest rises in Mountjoy Prison and Cloverhill Remand Prison.

Prison officers and management disagree about the number of gangs operating in the prison system. Staff claim there are 30 in Mountjoy alone, while the prison service says the number is 10 across all facilities.

The Prison Officers’ Association (POA) has described a firebomb attack on a prison officer’s car in Cork over the weekend as deeply “disturbing and sinister”.

The Prison Officers’ Association (POA) has described a firebomb attack on a prison officer’s car in Cork over the weekend as deeply “disturbing and sinister”.

Three prison officers at Mountjoy jail have had to take security measures, including extra precautions in their homes, due to death threats from gangland figures.

Prison authorities will consider the need for a high-security unit for gang bosses after Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald opened up the possibility of such a move.

The Prison Officers’ Association claims it has been denied a face-to-face meeting with Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan in relation to serious concerns it has regarding the investigation of assaults by inmates on prison officers.

State authorities estimate there will be more than 100 assaults by prisoners on staff this year, the Oireachtas justice committee heard yesterday.

The Prison Service in the UK is to launch an investigation after a riot at Bedford Prison which reportedly saw up to 200 inmates go on the rampage.

Prisoner officers have called for better protective equipment like batons and pepper spray after a violent assault in Midlands prison.

Prison Service boss Michael Donnellan has rejected criticisms from prison officers that violent inmates were being rewarded by special gardens and luxuries like fish tanks.

Officers at the country’s only maximum security jail have shared a €1m windfall in ‘danger money’ backpay for dealing with some of the most dangerous criminals.

Prison officers in England are falling ill after inhaling ‘legal highs’ used by inmates.

Prison officers have called for tougher sanctions for inmates who attack staff after a fresh incident in which a convicted murderer tried to choke an officer in Portlaoise Prison.

It could be several days before gardaí question an inmate about the fatal stabbing of another prisoner in Cork Prison at the weekend.

Prison chiefs ‘provocative’ by showing gardaí how system works

A prisoner who is so disruptive prison officers have to wear riot gear to deal with him has been given a PlayStation and a fish tank in a bid to pacify him, a prison officers’ conference has heard.

Providing a prisoner who had carried out 150 attacks on staff with cake and minerals on his birthday and €65 for “a party” was described as outrageous by the president of the Prison Officers’ Association.

The Prison Officers Association has questioned why an inmate with a long history of violence against staff was in a position to slash two of its members and punch another.

Prison officers are to be given anti-stab vests, incapacitant sprays and extendable batons in response to the serious stabbing of a prison officer in a high-profile escape last February.

Industrial action planned at the country’s prisons has been deferred following an intervention by the Labour Relations Commission.

Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald faces the prospect of potential industrial action by prison officers just hours after she meets officials from the Prison Officers’ Association tomorrow morning.

Officers at the State’s maximum security jail have won their claim to hold onto a special allowance for dealing with some of the country’s most dangerous criminals.

The body representing the country’s prison officers has expressed its disappointment at the Irish Prison Service’s decision to conduct an internal report into Derek Brockwell’s escape from Tallaght Hospital.

Prison officers are set to conduct a second day of industrial action today at the country’s only dedicated remand prison in a dispute over health and safety.

Assaults on prison officers increased by 50% last year — and almost one-third of them occurred in a young offenders institution.

Prison officers claim they are being attacked with "impunity" and that jail chiefs are not taking disciplinary action against the inmates responsible.

Prison officers have called for a former jail which held some of the North's most notorious paramilitaries to be bulldozed after proposals to build a peace centre there stalled.

Five members of prison staff have been suspended after Woolwich murder suspect Michael Adebolajo lost two teeth when he was restrained in jail.

The country should have a dedicated “gangland prison” to house convicted crime bosses, according to prison officers.

Every complaint made by inmates against prison officers under a new independent investigation system have so far turned out to be baseless.

Prison officers have threatened the Government with potential strike action if it imposes unilateral pay cuts.

Prison officers held an emergency meeting with Prison Service chiefs yesterday after lists containing personal information of staff were found in the cell of a convicted IRA killer.

Prison bosses are cutting pocket money to inmates to encourage good behaviour and save money.

Prison chiefs are struggling to deal with as many as 22 criminal factions in individual jails — but reject claims by prison officers they are losing control to gangs.

THIRTY prison officers who work at Cloverhill prison in west Dublin have tested positive for latent TB.

THE level of violence in prisons is growing at “an alarming rate”, the Prison Officers’ Association (POA) has claimed.

ONE fifth of the prison population is now on protection due to the gang culture in the prison system.

THERE are only nine cells in the prison system for mentally ill inmates, the Prison Officers’ Association (POA) has claimed.