Prison and Garda authorities are investigating a security incident at the weekend when a replica firearm was discovered in the grounds of a Dublin jail.

Legal experts are set to make recommendations on whether or not killers such as Eamonn Lillis should be barred from inheriting assets, such as the family home, from their victims.

President Michael D Higgins has said his attendance at a prison play should not be misunderstood as taking away from the gravity of the inmates’ crimes.