The bugging equipment which Sinn Fein said was found in its leader's car was "dated" and "amateurish", according to security sources here.
The equipment dates from at least the early 1990s and would cost around £1,000 over the counter to buy in specialist shops that supply the surveillance industry, according to one source with knowledge of such equipment.
Sinn Fein is suggesting that British intelligence services are responsible for planting the equipment in order to find out what the Sinn Fein negotiators were saying privately during the political talks in the North.
However, security sources here point out that British intelligence agencies would be expected to have equipment that was not yet available on the market. The bugging equipment consisted of two devices: a geo-positional satellite (GPS) link and a tracking device consisting of a microphone and a transmitter.
The equipment is bulky and was built into the bodywork. According to a source in the Republic, it would have taken up to a day to install. It would also have to be "road tested", which meant the car would have to be taken away and driven around to test the eavesdropping equipment.
Mr Adams has a personal security team, and the Sinn Fein leadership has access to a pool of cars which are maintained by their security staff. In order for the equipment to be fitted, the car would have to be removed from their control for as much as a day.
According to a senior source, the type of equipment which would be used to produce the same level of eavesdropping and tracking today would fit into a single device about the size of a mobile telephone. This could be attached to the car within a much shorter period and would be much more difficult to detect.
According to the sources yesterday, the GPS is of a type that can be bought in shops supplying boating equipment or in any good electronics shop. This device transmits "pulse" signals that can be traced to give an accurate position of the car if it is being tracked. The other part of the equipment is a receiver/transmitter hidden in the chassis of the car and attached to a microphone in the padded ceiling of the cabin. The microphone would have to be positioned to pick up a conversation in the rear seat of the car above the interference from engine noise and extraneous conversation from the driver.
It was said that all the equipment is readily available from specialist shops that supply the private detective market either in Britain, on the Continent or in the United States. It was described by a source with long experience in the field as "dated", and "at the latest, early 1990s".
The disposition of the equipment around the car was also described as "amateurish". The latest equipment, also available from specialist surveillance equipment shops, is a much smaller single unit and would cost many times more.
The Dublin criminal gang that murdered the journalist Veronica Guerin had possession of eavesdropping equipment that was said to be much more sophisticated than the devices produced from Mr Adams's car.
The gang had attempted to bug conversations in the Garda station at Lucan with a listening device hidden in the heels of a pair of shoes. That equipment was bought from a specialist electronic surveillance shop in central London for around £30,000.
Analysis of the equipment as seen on television will be undertaken by Garda technical experts who will be able to inform the Government of their opinions as to its source.