Paul Murphy
Question:155. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Justice and Equality her plans to bring forward proposals to change the Interception of Postal and Telecommunications (Regulations) Act 1994. [35281/15]
View answerTuesday, 20 October 2015
Questions (155)
Written answers
The Interception of Postal Packets and Telecommunications Messages (Regulation) Act 1993 provides a legislative basis for the lawful interception of communications in this State.
The Act provides that only the Minister for Justice and Equality may grant authorisations to intercept and then only for the purposes of the investigation of serious crime or in the interests of the security of the State. Only the Garda Commissioner and the Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces are entitled to make applications for authorisations to intercept. The Garda Commissioner may make applications in relation to serious crime or in the interests of the security of the State. The Chief of Staff may make applications in relation to the security of the State only, and such a request must be accompanied by the supporting recommendation of the Minister for Defence.
The 1993 Act also makes provision for independent judicial oversight of its operation by a serving Judge of the High Court who is designated for this purpose. The Designated Judge reports at least annually to the Taoiseach on the operation of the legislation and these reports are laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas. The current designated judge is Mr Justice Paul McDermott. The Act also provides for a complaints mechanism whereby an individual who believes he or she has been the subject of an authorisation under the relevant provisions of the Act may apply to the independent Complaints Referee for an investigation into the matter. The Complaints Referee is Judge John Hannan of the Circuit Court who may be contacted at the Office of the Complaints Referee, Áras Uí Dhálaigh, Inns Quay, Dublin 7.
All legislation that comes under the remit of my Department, including the 1993 Act is subject to ongoing review and any changes that are considered necessary will, of course, be subject to Oireachtas scrutiny as required by the legislative process at the appropriate time.