I've watched women taking bags of clothes, money, women travelling – coming from the arsehole of Kerry to get to Cork to get refused. There would be a smell on their clothes and then they would have to do a U-turn. It really does depend on the prison officer, might be nice, but they're totally devastated then getting no visit. No explanation only that the dog said no, end of story." Partner of a prisoner on sniffer dog drug searches in jails
"This is another thing, he's an adult and I still have to support him and dress him. I have to make sure he has everything he needs. We have to leave in the money every week to keep him dressed. Petrol is quite expensive." Mother of a young prisoner
"The one thing I hate about it is that you don't really get to hug them. You have to like lean over but like they tell ya: 'Get on your chair'. And you have to lean in." Seven-year old girl on non-contact visits
"I used to say 'Oh, he's in work'. One day [my son] was watching the news and he said to his aunt: 'That's where my da is but don't tell me ma, she doesn't know.' He was probably eight but he knew it was Mountjoy and was trying to protect me." Mother of a child whose father is in prison
“People’s grannies being put through the airport security, being told to take your shoes off, being man-handled.
"People's families were being degraded coming in to visit family members. People felt that they were in prison." Ex-prisoner
(Source: Interviews with prisoners and their relatives taken from the Irish Penal Reform Trust’s recent report: The Rights and Needs of Children and Families Affected by Imprisonment)