THERE were over 1,000 drug seizures in prisons across Ireland in 2019.
The number of seizures in Irish prisons has also risen by nearly 10% in the last year, according to statistics.
Details released under the Freedom of Information Act revealed that there were 1,251 drug seizures in jails across the country in 2019.
This was up from 1,138 in 2018 - a rise of almost 10%.
Dr Greg Kelly, a former GP in Castlerea Prison in Co. Roscommon said he was very surprised so many drugs could get into the facilities undetected.
"It actually amazes me that they're not actually picked up and detected when coming into the prison," he said.
"Because in no place is there as much security as that.
"If you cannot control the inflow of drugs into a prison, it is no wonder that it's so difficult to control it in the whole country."
The highest-offending facilities were Dublin's prisons, with 490 in Wheatfield caught with illegal substances, 237 in Mountjoy and 186 in Cloverhill.
The biggest jump in drug seizure statistics occurred in Oberstown Children's Detection Campus.
In 2018, just seven youths were found with drugs over the course of the year. Last year however, there were 32 instances of drug discoveries - a rise of of over 300%.
Concerningly, the detention centre currently only holds 33 inmates.
