PRISON officers have demanded a big increase in the number of drug-detection dogs to seal off a gap in jail security.
Criminals are attempting to exploit the shortage of dogs tasked with searching vehicles making daily prison deliveries. Only three dogs are available to search vehicles accessing the nation's 14 jails.
Officers estimate that hundreds of vehicles are driven into the jails on a daily basis, making deliveries to the kitchens, workshops, tuck shops and libraries.
POA deputy general secretary Eugene Dennehy warned the authorities that up to a dozen dogs were needed. The prison service had 20 dogs deployed in searching and sniffing visitors and they had proven their worth.
Delegates unanimously passed a motion demanding more dogs.
The Irish Independent
