There was a major security incident in Portlaoise Prison last weekend when a prisoner in a high-security wing was not accounted for at evening lock-up and had to later approach prison officers and ask to be put into his cell.

The State is bracing itself for the outcomes of around 880 court cases on “slopping out” in prisons after it lost a landmark action in the High Court.

The practice of prisoners “slopping out” will be “gone forever” by early 2016, the prisons boss has said.