I will again start by paying tribute to Mr. Martin Callinan on his retirement as Commissioner of An Garda Síochána, in which he had a long and distinguished service. He dedicated his career to the fight against crime and has a record of which he can justly be proud. I express my sincere thanks to him for his commitment and service to the State.
In its statement yesterday the Government indicated that information had come to light indicating that a system for the recording of telephone calls to and from many Garda stations had been in place for many years before it was discontinued last November. The fact that such a system was in place, and for so long, is clearly a matter of serious concern which the Government believes warrants the establishment of a commission of investigation. The circumstances surrounding the establishment of this system of recording, exactly when it started, the number of Garda stations involved, the extent to which recordings were retained and their relevance to any Garda investigation are still unclear. One of the main functions of the commission of investigation will be to establish the facts relating to these and all other relevant issues. I recognise, of course, that Deputies will have many reasonable questions on these and other aspects of the matter, but I am greatly constrained in what I can say. We need to establish the facts before we can draw firm conclusions and it would be wrong to engage in speculation in advance of this. However, I will outline what I know from a letter by the outgoing Garda Commissioner, Mr. Martin Callinan. The letter was sent to my Department on 10 March and made under section 41 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005 which provides a mechanism for the submission of information by the Garda Commissioner.
Unfortunately, this letter was not furnished to me by my officials until approximately 12.40 p.m. yesterday and I did not have an opportunity to read and consider it until some time later.
The letter started off by referring, by way of background, to a case in which civil proceedings are being taken by two persons against the Garda Síochána and the State for wrongful arrest and related matters. I am aware of speculation on the identity of these proceedings, but the House will understand that I cannot comment on proceedings currently before the courts. The letter from the Garda Commissioner referred to recordings of telephone conversations into and out of a particular Garda station, which had come to light as part of the process of discovering documents of relevance to the plaintiffs. That process is still under way. Again, I must emphasise the constraints on commenting on a case which is currently being litigated in the courts.
I am advised that my departmental officials were made aware of recordings of relevance to the specific civil proceedings previously mentioned on 28 February by the Garda Síochána and the Office of the Chief State Solicitor arising from its involvement in the response to the civil proceedings. I am informed that what was at issue was the discovery of recordings in a specific Garda station, not a more general system of recording calls in Garda stations and that no reference to such general recording of calls was made at that time.
In this letter of 10 March, the Garda Commissioner went on to say that it had subsequently transpired that systems would appear to have been installed during the 1980s in Garda stations to allow for the recording of incoming and outgoing calls from designated extensions. The Commissioner explained that the rationale behind this was the recording of Garda radio traffic to and from control rooms, 999 calls and the gathering of evidence around calls made to Garda stations regarding bomb threats and other code messages. This practice had continued in some stations over the years, with the recordings being retained within each station and with the original recorders being replaced in the 1990s and again in 2008. The letter states that the original recorders were replaced with Dictaphone recorders during the 1990s - I do not know what specific year - and further replaced by what are referred to as NICE recorders, which I understand is a brand name, which were installed in 2008.
The Commissioner explained that he had consulted the Attorney General's office on the matter and expected that consultation with the office of the Data Protection Commissioner would be necessary, as well as further advice from the Office of the Attorney General. However, he made clear in the letter that he had directed that the routine recording of non-999 calls to Garda stations should cease and he confirmed that all recordings, except those made on dedicated 999 lines, were fully stopped nationally on 27 November 2013. In regard to the continued recording of 999 calls, which I think everyone would instinctively understand, the Commissioner, in his letter, explained that there was a legislative underpinning of such recording contained in an Act of 2007. The Commissioner went on to say that he was awaiting written confirmation from each divisional officer that all audio recordings that had been stored at each divisional headquarters outside Dublin had been collected and were now stored securely at Garda headquarters. The Commissioner noted that the total number of tapes collected at that stage was 2,485.
The issue the Commissioner identified in the letter was the action he should now take in regard to these recordings and he particularly referenced his role as data controller in respect of the recordings. He stated that he had consulted the Attorney General's office on 11 November 2013 and established a working group to report to him on the issue. He stated that he expected that consultation with the office of the Data Protection Commissioner would be necessary as well as further advice from the Attorney General. While the Attorney General, in the context of the civil proceedings previously mentioned, was made aware of the existence of tapes and the possible existence of other tapes, I am advised that she had no knowledge at that time of the circumstances surrounding the making of tapes, the legal background to their being made, the content of such tapes or the number of such tapes.
I understand that on the day the letter from the Commissioner was received, there was a consultation held with the senior counsel representing the State in this case to discuss the issues arising. I also understand that on the day after the receipt of the letter of 10 March in my Department, 11 March 2014, there was a follow-up meeting between the Garda Commissioner, officials of the Department of Justice and Equality and the Office of the Attorney General. I am advised that the discussion covered the ongoing legal consultation in regard to the civil proceedings. I also understand that the matters covered in the letter of 10 March were being considered by my departmental officials, in the context of the ongoing legal consultation in regard to the specific case in question. I am informed that, subsequently, on 19 and 20 March 2014, Garda headquarters copied my Department with correspondence between the Garda Síochána and both the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner.
As Members of the House may be aware, I flew to Mexico to undertake my duties in respect of Government Ministers' St. Patrick's Day arrangements on 15 March and did not return until 21 March. I was not briefed on this matter until approximately 6 p.m. on Monday, 24 March 2014 in the Department of Justice and Equality, and as previously stated, was first furnished with the letter of 10 March from the Garda Commissioner yesterday at approximately 12.40 p.m. Following the initial briefing by my departmental officials, I met with both the Taoiseach and the Attorney General on Monday evening to discuss these matters.
I know there are reports that I knew of the system of recording in Garda stations last year, but this is not the case. Reference has been made, for example, to a case investigated by GSOC of a member of the public who was assaulted by members of the Garda Síochána in Waterford. GSOC, I have since learnt, reported on this on 16 June last year and made reference in its report to the recording of phone calls in Waterford Garda Station. However, this was not a report to me or my Department, but a press release by GSOC and there was no indication or suggestion of any nationwide system of recording in Garda stations. I am aware of various commentators referencing this short GSOC report in broadcast and print media since the Government's statement was published yesterday afternoon on this issue and they have questioned the truthfulness of the account given to date of these matters.
Unfortunately, we live in a world where, regardless of the issue, some commentators and Opposition Deputies, on first learning of an issue detailed by Government of which they were unaware, feel compelled to accuse those who make the issue known and seek to address it, of telling untruths or of some incompetence. This is something of an industry, and with Members opposite it is a wearisome repetitive refrain-----
