The Prison Officers' Association says its members are angry and dismayed after this morning's searches linked to smuggling of contraband into jails.
The Deputy General Secretary of the POA, Stephen Delaney, said that any smuggling undermined the jobs, well being, and lives of the association's members.
Mr Delaney said prison officers were doing a difficult job and that the alleged actions of a small minority were reflecting badly on the entire workforce.
Mr Delaney said members were dismayed that their colleagues might be bringing materials into prisons.
He said the association was fully behind the efforts by the authorities to put a stop to all smuggling.
His comments come after gardaí carried out 17 searches and arrested two prison officers earlier today.
Over 50 gardaí from Portlaoise and the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation searched prison officers' lockers and cells in Portlaoise and the Midlands prisons this morning.
The homes of four suspected local drug dealers and five prison officers were also searched.
The two prison officers, aged 34 and 37, are being questioned at Newbridge Garda Station.
The search began at 6am this morning and a small amount of cocaine and cannabis was recovered during the house searches.
