Telecom Eireann has said it has no power to remove an Internet site which gives details of Garda and security firm radio frequencies and Garda radio codes.
The website has been accessed more than 3,400 times since May, and the number of "hits" was rising to more than one a minute yesterday following reports about the site.
"Because it is not illegal to possess such information, the site does not breach the terms and conditions which Telecom Internet customers must sign and adhere to," a spokeswoman said in a statement last night.
"Telecom Internet would be very happy to discuss the legalities further with the Garda in relation to this particular site in more detail. However, if Telecom Internet were to remove this site, it would constitute censorship of the Internet, which currently is not the function of Internet service providers."
Many of the frequencies are already published in a ham radio operators' booklet which circulates among most scanner enthusiasts.
A young couple In Maynooth, Co Kildare, who use the names Bandit and Migraine Girl, say they are responsible for the site. They have identified themselves on the website, using their first names.
Yesterday at least two messages mailed to the website were scathing of media coverage.
"It's a pity that just because a couple of idiots try to knock off an armoured car we are now all `criminals' ", a scanner-user wrote.
A Garda spokesman said there was nothing illegal about the site. "We can't do anything about that unless the information is fetched off the Net and used to commit an offence."
The site also lists the frequencies for Dublin Corporation clampers, hospital paging systems, sea ports and airports.
The Garda spokesman said information on the GATSO anti-speeding vans had already been made public. "We have never hidden the fact that we have this technology and the way in which it operates." Users of the site are warned that the information is for "educational purposes only," and told not to programme frequencies into scanners or pass them to third parties.
The Garda insignia is used as part of the graphics on the home page, and a free copy of the Post Office Code Standard Advisory Group decoder is offered. With this, users are told how to listen to pagers and "relax and enjoy reading other people's messages".
A list of security company frequencies includes most large Dublin firms, shopping centre security frequencies and courier companies. There is also a list of frequencies used by the RTE outside broadcast unit.
The Labour justice spokesman, Dr Pat Upton, said the availability of the information was "very serious and worrying". He called on the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, to order an investigation.
The Fine Gael justice spokesman, Mr Jim Higgins, said the existence of the website was a flagrant security breach and the Minister for Justice should insist that it be withdrawn.
