Pledge over teacher crisis
New vids show thugs flying illegal items over a prison’s walls
Instead, the National Union of Journalists official said there was a deliberate attempt to “stop photographers and reporters from doing their work”.
“First of all, I do notice that there was some commentary that it was because the PSNI were not present that journalists were a convenient target,” he said. “I don’t accept that. I think that there was a deliberate targeting of journalists.”
NOTHING is off the table when it comes to measures to tackle the current shortage of teachers, according to the education minister.
Norma Foley said she and her department were happy to “pursue” suggestions put forward by the teachers’ unions to address the recruitment and retention crisis.
Teachers’ unions are holding their annual conferences this week, with the issue of teacher shortages top of the agenda.
BRAZEN thugs are showing off the drugs they had flown into an Irish prison via an expensive drone.
Last month The Star obtained shocking footage which showed a person controlling a drone that flew over Dublin’s Wheatfield Prison and dropped suspected drugs into the yard.
Now just two weeks later other videos have emerged of the thugs once again controlling a drone via a tablet and dropping another package into the prison yard, which is picked up by a prisoner below.
Further videos have also emerged of the suspected drugs and illegal mobile phones that have then been smuggled inside the prison.
Packages
In footage seen by The Star, someone shows off a series of tiny phones and packages and blocks of suspected drugs.
They also show off the drone device and tablet in full, revealing that it is a Autel Robotics drone. Varying types of the sophisticated drone can be purchased online from between €1,300 and €9,000.
Following the previous video, it emerged that the Irish Prison Service had contacted gardai over the incident, which occurred last Wednesday, March 20.
An internal prison investigation has also been launched as concerns grow about how contraband is being freely flown over the prison yards.
Sources previously told how the gangs responsible are going to desperate lengths to conceal the drugs and get them through a net placed over the yard with weights.
“This is how these people are now trying to work around the nets by setting up a rather sophisticated method of placing weights in such a way that the bottle will fall straight through,” a source said.
“Then the shape of the items might also give you an indication of perhaps where the drugs are going to be hidden next, before they go back inside...”
In a statement, the IPS said: “The Irish Prison Service is committed to preventing the access of contraband including drugs into prisons and this continues to be a high priority for the Irish Prison Service.
“The Irish Prison Service has committed to continuing to invest in new technologies and measures to support our efforts to keep contraband out of prisons.
“Prison staff have increased the use of random and intelligence-led cell searches on a daily basis. Our Canine Unit carry out searches around the prisons, including a greater focus on searching deliveries into prisons. “The Irish Prison Service continues to engage with An Garda Siochana with regard to preventing contraband entering our prison and this happens at both local and national level.”
Searches
They added: “The Operational Support Group work closely with their colleagues in An Garda Siochana on a regular basis and the sharing of intelligence has led to target searches resulting in the seizure of contraband.”
The Prison Service also said that inmates, visitors, staff or members of the public with information on the “trafficking of prohibited items” can contact a now operational free confidential telephone line on 1800 855 717 or the text line on 086 180 2449.