Prison officers took part in a one-hour work stoppage from 2pm this afternoon in protest at the effect of new security measures on their working conditions.
The measures have been introduced by the Department of Justice to stop contraband being smuggled to inmates and include searches of prison officers arriving for work.
During the one-hour strike, prisoners were locked in their cells, and missed out on normal afternoon activities.
While prison officers support the new security initiative, they object to having to clock-in after being searched, which they say lengthens their real working day.
Up to now, staff were searched after they had clocked-in.
However, the Irish Prison Service says staff are not ready for work until they have been searched.
For their part, the prison officers stress they support the new security measures. But searches before clocking-in mean that they will effectively be searched on their own time and that their real working day will be extended.
The head of the Prison Service, Brian Purcell, has accused the prison officers of breaking the Towards 2016 national agreement.
