To ask the Minister of Justice, pursuant to AQW 6976/22-27, to detail her assessment of how the presence of illegal drugs is maintained in HMP Magilligan.

Regrettably, many people entering our prisons have long-standing issues regarding addictions, with associated engrained drug seeking behaviours.

These behaviours continue whilst in custody.

The Independent Review of Progress of Maghaberry and Magilligan Prisons undertaken by the Criminal Justice (NI) Inspectorate and His Majesty’s Chief Inspectorate of Prisons in late 2023 evidenced:

“Medications were the most commonly found substances, indicating a level of success in preventing the ingress of illicit substances from the community.”

Analysis of Magilligan’s drug test figures for February 2024 further underpins these findings; of 119 prisoners tested, 12 failed - all for the presence of medications not prescribed to that individual.

This represents a fall of 7 % in failures, from the time of the Independent Review of Progress, and against a higher number of individuals tested. This coupled with the use of X-Ray body scanners and other search aids, which have thwarted efforts to traffic prohibited items, demonstrates the effectiveness of Magilligan’s Drug Strategy in stopping the entry of drugs into the prison.