Anti-drug measures in St Patrick's Institution for young offenders are proving effective, according to a spokesman for the Prison Service.
He was responding to a report that St Patrick's was "awash" with drugs, and that it suffered from chronic understaffing and low morale. The spokesman pointed out that such reports surfaced from time to time in the context of the ongoing efforts to cut back on prison overtime.
The final touches are now being put to a package aimed at the reduction of prison overtime and the reorganisation of the work of prison officers. This has been before the Labour Relations Commission, and will shortly go to arbitration, according to the spokesman.
The spokesman acknowledged that two workshops had recently been closed in St Patrick's, but he pointed out that there were 15 full-time teachers there, and the young men were receiving education.
He said a new net had been installed to prevent drugs being thrown over the wall. Its success could be measured by complaints from inmates, and the fact that attempts had been made to cut holes in it.