Phones of whistle-blowers, TDs, journalists ‘regularly monitored’, Dáil told

The examination on an annual basis by a High Court judge of Garda and Department of Justice records on phone tapping has been sharply criticised as mere “rubber stamping”.

A number of TDs condemned the system for monitoring Garda phone tapping, claiming there was no proper oversight and that “widespread abuse is lawful” under current legislation.

The Dáil also heard claims that whistle-blowers’ phones are currently being tapped while those of journalists, TDs and campaigners are routinely monitored.

The criticisms came as Tánaiste Frances Fitzgerald defended the system in place to allow phones to be tapped in cases of serious crime and threats to State security. She also rejected claims there had been “widespread abuse of the interception system”.

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Ms Fitzgerald also described as “utterly ill-founded” the “adverse reflection on the work of the designated judges”.

And she insisted current legislation “contains strong safeguards to ensure the system of interceptions is operated properly”. Ms Fitzgerald said the Minister could not initiate a warrant and could only act on applications made to her.

The Tánaiste said the allegations raised referred to the early 2000s and a judge examined them and concluded there were no breaches of the legislation.

Ms Fitzgerald said that in the early 2000s “there were people who described themselves as political activists who were engaged in activities in support of unlawful organisations.

She added that “I have not used the powers available to me to interfere with the wholly legitimate work of public representatives”.

She was speaking as five TDs raised the issue of phone tapping in the Dáil. Sinn Féin defence spokesman Aengus Ó Snodaigh said a highly decorated detective reportedly took a case against An Garda for bullying, “alleging that he was forced to put illegal phone taps and traces on innocent people” and that no authority was given to track their phones.

There were heated exchanges when acting chairman Jim Daly intervened after Mr Ó Snodaigh said the phone tapping did not only occur in the early 2000s but continued to the present day and “that implicates current Garda Commissioner Noirín O’Sullivan who was assistant commissioner dealing with security from 2009 to 2011”.

When Mr Ó Snodaigh said Ms Fitzgerald could not ignore Ms O’Sullivan’s role Mr Daly said the TD should not make charges against people not present to defend themselves.

Mr Ó Snodaigh said he was not making charges but “Garda whistleblowers’ phones are being tapped up to the present day and those of journalists, TDs and campaigners are routinely monitored”.

Independents4Change TD Clare Daly said current legislation made widespread abuse lawful.

She said the “judge who compiles the report goes in on one day, asks to see one or two requests out of thousands and then says he or she was given everything asked for. That is not proper oversight or scrutiny” and a radical overhaul of all the legislation was needed.

Independents4Change TD Mick Wallace said they had raised the issue of phone tapping 13 times without satisfaction. He said three pieces of legislation gave “State agencies the power to abuse the privacy of Irish citizens and not just journalists”.

He cited reports from a garda who described as a “joke” the manner in which the duty of the designated judge was carried out to monitor Garda records on surveillance. In Britain the report of the annual assessment runs to 99 pages but it was just two pages here, a “rubber stamping job”.

He said “the designated judge has issued the same identical two-page report since 2014 with only the year and date changed. That is no reflection on the judge. This is the system and it leaves a lot to be desired.”

Solidarity People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett said it was “completely scandalous” there were more revelations from a Garda whistleblower that innocent people’s phones were being tapped.

Green party leader Eamon Ryan warned that it was “hugely damaging to trust in the political system” if there was any sense that the Government side “is being used to put surveillance on the other side”.