Vol. 396 No. 6
160 Mr. Finucane asked the Minister for Justice the circumstances under which telephone lines can be tape recorded officially; whether the staff of the Revenue Commissioners or Customs and Excise officers are empowered to intercept telephone calls; and, if so, if he will outline the circumstances under which this is permissible.
The interception of telephone calls without the consent of the subscriber is carried out only in accordance with warrants issued by the Minister for Justice. The procedures in relation to the issue of such warrants have been outlined in the House on a number of occasions. I would refer the Deputy to the detailed reply given by the then Minister for Justice to a series of questions on 17 February 1972, (volume 258, columns 2136 to 2145) of the Official Report.
