Prisoners moved following fire at Midlands Prison

Charlie Flanagan

The fire broke out in the attic of the E Division of the Co Laois prison last night and led to power outages.

Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan, who also represents the Laois constituency, commended firefighters who extinguished the fire.

He said he was “reassured by the confirmation I have received from the IPS that all relevant safety systems worked as expected”, but added that “some non-residential areas of the Division” have been damaged.

Mr Flanagan continued: “I understand power has been restored to many of the affected areas and I know the IPS are working to keep disruptions for prisoners to a minimum.

“I am of course concerned that the fire broke out in the first place. Early indications suggest the fire started as a result of an electrical wiring fault however I am expecting a full report on the incident from the Irish Prison Service in due course.”