FG criticises 'worthless' jail pledges

FINE GAEL has described Government pledges to restrict the smuggling of contraband items into prisons as "worthless" after a mobile phone was found in the prison cell of convicted drug dealer John Gilligan.

The phone, two Sim cards, phone chargers and a syringe were found on Wednesday during a search by prison officers, who apparently overheard Gilligan talking on the phone the previous night while alone in his single-occupancy cell in Portlaoise Prison. The seized items have been sent by the Irish Prison Service (IPS) to the Garda.

Gilligan has been placed in solitary confinement for two months. A Garda spokeswoman said it has "been made aware of the alleged discovery of contraband within Portlaoise Prison" and is investigating.

Fine Gael justice spokesman Charlie Flanagan yesterday claimed the latest discovery showed that "repeated Government promises to rid our prisons of drugs and mobile phones are worthless".

He said the situation whereby gang bosses can "run their criminal empires from behind bars are totally unacceptable in any democratic State" and called on Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern to introduce airport-style security in every prison, including the use of scanners and sniffer dogs.

IPS director general Brian Purcell said enhanced security screening and searching was being introduced at all prisons to prevent the smuggling of drugs, mobile phones and weapons. He said airport-style walk-through detectors and X-ray scanners will be installed in each of the State's nine closed prisons, while sniffer dog units will also be deployed.

"Even with the introduction of these new security measures there is still a risk that contraband can be smuggled into a prison," he said.

It is an offence punishable by up to five years to smuggle a mobile phone into an Irish prison. However, the maximum penalty imposed by the courts to date has been six months. According to IPS figures, more than 2,000 mobile phones were seized by prison authorities last year, including 60 in Portlaoise.

Mobile phone blocking technology is being piloted at the Midlands Prison in Portlaoise. Former justice minister Brian Lenihan described the scheme's results as "positive" earlier this year.

Gilligan (56), from Ballyfermot in Dublin, was jailed by the Special Criminal Court in 2001 for importing drugs into Ireland. The 28-year sentence he received for drug-dealing was later cut to 20 years on appeal. He was handed an additional two-year sentence in 2006 for threatening to kill two prison officers during a row over the prison tuck shop in 2001.

Gilligan lost his prison privileges earlier this month after giving an unauthorised interview to Hot Pressmagazine which led to stricter visiting restrictions being introduced in Portlaoise. He was attacked by a fellow prisoner following publication of the article.