Figures obtained by Senator Pascal Donohoe show that 1,844 mobile phones have been detained in Irish prisons by the end of October 2008. ” These figures show that not enough is been done to stop the supply of mobile phones in our prisons. Despite the use of airport style scanners and x ray machines in many prisons there is actually a fall in the number of mobile phones confiscated in our major prisons. It is particularly worrying that Mountjoy prison has seen a fall in the number of mobile phones successfully confiscated” according to Senator Donohoe.
” We know that the availability of mobile phones has helped criminal in their efforts to run criminal empires from inside their cells. These figures show that the efforts of the Government are still not working. The effectiveness of current plans in our major prisons must be audited and steps taken to reverse the fall in detection rates” said Senator Donohoe.