Ten prisoners have been taken to hospital after suspected overdoses at Portlaoise Prison.
The prisoners were brought to the Midlands Regional Hospital Portlaoise this afternoon.
Its understood that the prisoners are all in a serious condition.
The Irish Prison Service (IPS) has said it is working closely with the HSE and it has secured extra naloxone kits in the event of clinical intervention.
Naloxone is a prescription medication used to temporarily reverse the effects of opioid drugs, for example heroin, morphine or methadone and can keep a person alive until an ambulance arrives.
In a statement this evening, the IPS said: “Extra vigilance is being taken across the prison estate and the Irish Prison Service has commenced an information campaign for prisoners around the dangers of consuming contraband.”
It said prison staff have increased the use of random and intelligence led cell searches on a daily basis.
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It said: “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 Síochána with regard to preventing contraband entering our prison and this happens at both local and national level”.
Three weeks ago the IPS issued an urgent drug alert to all prisons due to an analysis conducted by the HSE National Drug Treatment Centre Laboratory which confirmed the presence of a nitazene-type drug in prisons.
Nitazine is associated with overdoses and can be fatal. It was detected in the wider public in June.