Minister for Justice Michael McDowell has ordered an inquiry after a convicted armed robber phoned a radio programme on a mobile phone from his prison cell.
John Daly from Finglas, who is serving a nine-year sentence in the maximum security Portlaoise Prison, phoned RTÉ's LiveLine programme this morning.
Mr McDowell said he was hoping for the results of an inquiry by the Director of Prisons would emerge quickly. "There better be a very good explanation of what happened", he added.
Fine Gael Justice Spokesman Jim O'Keeffe it the incident was "absurd" and was "highly embarrassing" for Mr McDowell.
"Under this Minister many prisons have turned into operation centres for some of Ireland's most dangerous criminals," he said.
"Drugs and mobile phones are routinely smuggled inside, with criminals finding ever more inventive ways to breach security. Yet Minister McDowell's plan to make prisons drug-free have been quietly shelved."
It is believed Daly has been moved to Cork Prison and has had a mobile phone confiscated.