A prison service investigation is underway today into the circumstances surrounding a breach of security at the Midlands prison in Portlaoise.
An Irish Prison Service spokesman confirmed there was a security breach at the jail on December 18 thlast when a visitor gained unauthorisd access to the inmate accommodation area of the prison.
The spokesman told ireland.comthat a man was searched and permitted to visit a prisoner, but took a wrong turn leading away from the visitor's area to the "normal accommodation" section of the high security facility where former drug lord John Gilligan is held.
But authorities discovered the "mistake" quickly and the visitor was removed from the accommodation wing.
The prison service has insisted the man did not gain access to the prisoner landings where inmates are accommodated but said: "It was a breach of security and it shouldn't have happened".
The incident is also currently under investigation by the Gardai.
Fine Gael Justice spokesman Charlie Flanagan said the incident along with previous controversies including the telephone call made by inmate John Daly to RTE radio's Livelineand the subsequent widespread discoveries of contraband in cells showed there were serious questions about prison security.
Mr Flanagan said it was "vital for democracy that the public has confidence in the prison system". "At this stage we don't even know if Justice Minister Brian Lenihan has confidence in his own prisons, given his ongoing silence."