There has been a 50% increase in the number of injuries suffered by prison officers dealing with non-compliant prisoners.

Prison officers are being sent out “with only our bare hands and courage” to intercept the delivery of contraband into exercise yards according to the general secretary of the Prison Officers Association.

Overcrowding in prisons is leading to intimidation and violence, according to the Prison Officers Association.

The public service pay deal is set for overwhelming acceptance as four more unions yesterday voted to back it.

More than 2,000 fewer people were sent to prison last year compared to 2015, a drop of 12%.

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.

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.

Stab vests need to be issued to all prison officers after the murder of an inmate in Cork, Fianna Fáil has said.

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.

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.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has denied that budget cuts had anything to do with the escape of a prisoner at Tallaght Hospital in Dublin yesterday.

A major manhunt is ongoing in Dublin, after an inmate at Portlaoise Prison made a violent escape, during which two prison officers were stabbed.

A prisoner has escaped from Tallaght hospital after stabbing two prison officers.

Ireland’s prison population rose by more than a quarter during the financial crisis years, in line with other economically hit countries in Europe.

The Irish Prison Service says it is "extremely disappointed" that a planned work stoppage went ahead at Cloverhill Prison in Dublin today.

Inmates at Cloverhill prison will remain locked in their cells for an extra hour after lunch because of a row over staffing levels.

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

Prison officers are calling on the Government for a new watchdog body to investigate complaints made by offenders.

An incident is taking place involving a number of inmates at Maidstone Prison in the UK following reports of a riot.

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

Moors Murderer Ian Brady remains “chronically psychotic” and should remain in a hospital setting for treatment, his mental health tribunal heard today.

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

The leaders of the trade unions representing 70,000 of the country’s emergency workers have warned of the “strongest campaign of opposition possible” to the public service cuts proposed under Croke Park II.

Nurses and doctors want a full meeting of the public service negotiating team for a “detailed debate” on the Government’s demand for premium payment cuts under Croke Park II.

A UK prison is being forced to change all of its locks after one set of keys went missing.

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

An open prison in the UK was the subject of an inquiry tonight after balaclava-clad inmates went on the rampage and torched buildings in a New Year’s Day mutiny sparked by an attempted clampdown on contraband alcohol.

A riot at an open prison in England was brought under control after a New Year’s Day rampage by inmates thought to have been sparked by attempts to breathalyse them to check for contraband alcohol.

A PRISON officer caught trying to smuggle a “selection box” of drugs into Mountjoy Prison yesterday also had a second quantity of drugs seized from his car.

The Prison Officers Association has said today that any of its members involved in drug trafficking will have no support from the organisation.

Unacceptable management failures in the North's prisons mean they deliver an ineffective service despite having more staff than inmates, a damning report has found.

There are strong denials that overcrowding was to blame for a riot at Mountjoy jail which saw three prison officers injured.

PRISON officers at Mount- joy unanimously agreed yesterday to press ahead with a ballot for industrial action, up to and including strike action.

Prison officers at Mountjoy are to ballot for industrial action in a deepening row over staffing and the segregation of inmates, it was revealed today.

The Prison Officers Association has said it was surprised and disappointed that a meeting with the Irish Prison Service to discuss a dispute over staffing levels at Mountjoy was cancelled.

PRISON officers at Mountjoy could strike within weeks over fears for their safety due to the decision to house dangerous prisoners in a separation unit in the facility.

A prison officer required hospital treatment after he was slashed across the face by an inmate today.

Controversial plans for a super-prison which have already cost taxpayers €40m have been dramatically scaled back, it was revealed today.

The president of the Prison Officers Association is accusing the Government of having no plan to deal with overcrowding in jails.

Prison officers are calling for a review after two leading gangland figures were found travelling behind a prison van in Ballyfermot in Dublin last night.