The Director General of the Irish Prison Service has said that planned industrial action by prison officers in their dispute over work practices contravened the latest partnership agreement.
Last night the Prison Officers' Association told the Irish Prison Service that it had sanctioned industrial action, beginning with a one-hour work stoppage on Friday, November 30th.
At the moment, prison officers are allowed to take 10 minutes to pass through security procedures. Prison officers say new security procedures will take longer to perform, and they should be paid from when they arrive at work.
But the Director General of the Irish Prison Service, Brian Purcell said the industrial action was "in clear breach" of the terms of Towards 2016 agreement.
He insisted that the new measures were being introduced "in the best interests of the safety and security of staff, prisoners and the general public" and said prison officers already get a ten-minute "grace period" to allow for the new measures.