LAST UPDATE | 14 Aug

THE 10 SUSPECTED overdoses by people at Portlaoise Prison were probably linked to a synthetic opioid, a detective has said.

A number of prisoners were taken to hospital by ambulance on Tuesday while others received treatment at the prison.

It has been reported that all those impacted are currently stable and the situation is being monitored closely.

The Irish Prison Service (IPS) said it was “working closely” with the HSE in response to a number of overdose presentations in custody.

Prison officers have said the mass overdose is a direct result of inaction from successive Ministers and governments.

Extra naloxone kits are being acquired and IPS says it’s continuing to work with the HSE in relation to the incident.

A spokesperson said that increased searches for contraband will also take place across prisons and that an information campaign for prisoners around the dangers of consuming contraband, such as drugs, has been commenced.

It is understood that daily drug deliveries have been taking place in prisons for some time now and the prison service has ramped up searches of cells in response. However, the Prison Officers Association has said it is too little too late.

“Despite the best efforts of our members on the ground no significant action has been taken by the authorities to address the drugs issue in our prisons,” Gabriel Keaveny, Deputy General Secretary of the Prison Officers Association, said.

“What has regrettably now occurred in Portlaoise Prison was somewhat inevitable.”

Last month, the Irish Prison Service issued a nationwide public warning about a dangerous cocktail of drugs which it has been alerted to.

Analysis conducted by the HSE National Drug Treatment Centre Laboratory which confirmed the presence of a nitazene type substance in the drugs tested. The substance is known to cause overdoses.

While there has been no confirmation on what type of drug was taken by the 12 prisoners in hospital, the Prison Officers Association has also criticised an attack on a staff member’s home in recent weeks, which it says was related to drugs.

The Prison Officer Association said:

“The Minister and the prison authorities need to see this incident in Portlaoise as an inevitable consequence of inaction over the years.”

The group added that an immediate intervention needs to take place to curb the delivery of drugs into prisons and other systemic issues such as overcrowding, which it claims is stretching vital resources.

Keaveny has told The Journal of a previously reported incident where a drone delivery, that was doused in flammable liquid and set alight, made its way to Mountjoy Prison and burned through the protective netting over the yard.

According to Keaveny, drugs like cocaine and pills were included in this delivery. Four people were hospitalised, three people became very sick and one person died shortly after the delivery, he said.

He described the issue of drug deliveries as a “significant issue” facing the Irish Prison Service. Keaveny added that it is the view of prison officers that there is “no end in sight”.

Detective Chief Superintendent at the Garda Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau Séamus Boland told RTÉ Radio One this morning that there is a danger that, going forward, drugs such as nitazene – a strong, synthetic opioid – will become more prevalent.

Boland said that the drugs can be as powerful, if not more dangerous, than other strong drugs such as fentanyl but added that health teams and the HSE have already developed frameworks which will help to counteract a potential influx. 

Boland said: “Nobody wants to see what has happened on any of these incidents, or particularly even in within our prison system yesterday.”

“Because of the safeguards and the forward thinking of our health departments, drugs to counteract the actual overdoses that are taking place, and there have been some adequate quantities, have been available,” he added.

With reporting by Niall O’Connor and the Press Association