asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if he has any proposals which will ensure that telephonists employed by his Department will respect completely the confidentiality of personal telephone calls.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Confidentiality of Telephone Calls.
53.
The Deputy no doubt has in mind a recent case in which a male night telephonist was found guilty of recording Garda telephone messages.
Like the Deputy, I am concerned about the implications of this, and particularly about the fact that it was possible for the offence to be perpetrated over so long a period, from early September, 1972, to early April, 1973.
My Department are now reviewing and strengthening supervisory arrangements to protect the confidentiality of telephone calls. It is hardly possible to devise measures which absolutely ensure complete security. The need for improvement over the degree of supervision judged adequate up to last April is, however, accepted.