The Garda phone tapping inquiry is expected to probe how the Department of Justice managed its affairs, the history of who recorded what, and the recent resignation of the Garda commissioner.

A Government minister has said she expects "all relevant matters" to fall within the remit of the inquiry set up to investigate the Garda Tapes controversy.

The interim Garda commissioner has laid out how she intends to transform the mentality in the force admitting public trust in gardaí has to be “won and won again”.

The level of contact between gardaí and journalists during the investigation into the 1996 murder of French filmmaker Sophie Toscan du Plantier was “beyond belief”, the High Court heard yesterday.

Interim Garda Commissioner Noirín O’Sullivan has described as unfortunate the use of the word “disgusting” by her predecessor to describe garda whistleblowers.

The Law Society has written to Taoiseach Enda Kenny to set out its grave concern that people’s human rights may have been breached through the secret recording of calls with their solicitors.

Secret recordings of conversations between gardaí and journalists about the Sophie Toscan du Plantier murder are unlikely to be released to the reporters involved, the Data Protection Commissioner has warned.

One high-ranking garda last year received a golden handshake of more than €170,000 as part of a €25.9m pension bonanza for retiring gardaí.

LATE on Wednesday evening came the news that Justice Minister Alan Shatter had requested Judge Michael Reilly, Inspector of Prisons, carry out an urgent independent investigation into the announcement that conversations between 139 prisoners and their solicitors had been “inadvertently recorded” on prison phone lines since 2010.

WHICH Irish politician would you like to see taken to Guantanamo Bay and water-boarded until they told the truth?

Any Irish person who once believed unquestioningly in the pillar institutions of this society is entitled to feel disappointed, if not betrayed.

The Transport Minister Leo Varadkar says Alan Shatter "allowed" the penalty points controversy to go on too long.

At the end of questioning by the Fianna Fáil leader, Micheál Martin, in the Dáil this evening, the Taoiseach dropped in new revelations about the possible inadvertent recording of phone conversations from prisons.

It has been confirmed by the Taoiseach Enda Kenny that the telephone conversations between some prisoners and their legal representatives were recorded.

The Taoiseach Enda Kenny has confirmed to the Dáil that phone calls between 84 prisoners and legal representatives were "inadvertently recorded".

The Supreme Court Judge, Mr Justice Nial Fennelly, has been appointed to chair the Commission of Investigation into the practice of recording phone conversations at garda stations.

A retired detective garda who was part of the investigation team that helped secure John Dundon's conviction for the murder of Shane Geoghegan, has said the controversy surrounding recordings of phone calls has been blown out of all proportion.

The Special Criminal Court has ruled that the trial of two men for IRA membership can proceed after hearing evidence that there are no recording facilities at Clonmel and Cahir Garda stations where the men were detained after arrest.

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin has said there is a need to restore public confidence in the law, but he warned against unrelenting criticism of the Garda.

Data Protection Commissioner Billy Hawkes has said the issues surrounding the Garda tapes “go way behind data protection” and relate to citizens receiving a fair trial.

WHILE the implications of the Garda taping crisis continue to unravel, there are growing concerns at the Taoiseach’s role in Martin Callinan’s shock departure and the impact on the relationship between the Government and An Garda Síochána.

The waste of state money involved in the installation of €500,000 worth of recording systems at Garda stations may be investigated by the Dáil’s Public Account’s Committee (PAC).

THE Labour Party was not informed about concerns of phone recording at Garda stations until the Cabinet met on Tuesday morning, according to one of its ministers, Pat Rabbitte.

Trials and convictions of suspected murderers, rapists, terrorists, and other serious criminals are in jeopardy as the fallout from the Garda bugging scandal becomes clearer.

IT WAS Shatter-Day Night Fever in the Dáil as, after seven hours of sustained attack, the sly smile on the Justice Minister’s face signalled: “I’m staying alive.”

Transport Minister Leo Varadkar has revealed he is having difficulty “getting his head around” the latest twists in the Garda crisis.

Justice Minister Alan Shatter appears to have survived another crisis after an apology to two gardaí who blew the whistle on penalty point cancellations eased concerns of his Labour Party coalition colleagues.

WHAT’S at stake is the most fundamental issue: trust, belief and faith in the justice system.

Garda chiefs shelled out more than half-a-million euro for a state-of-the-art digital recording system to be placed in 21 stations around the country six years ago.

The justice minister said it was “unfortunate” that his department officials did not inform him of a letter relating to the recording of phone calls at Garda stations until two weeks after they received it.

Sinn Féin, along with a succession of opposition TDs have questioned Alan Shatter’s explanation as to when he was informed of the existence of the Garda tapes.

Fianna Fáil has called on Justice Minister Alan Shatter to resign, accusing both him and Enda Kenny of being so caught up in their own spin they were “beginning to meet themselves on the way back”.

The Garda Ombudsman said a report they published in June 2013 — detailing the recording of phone conversations at a Garda station — was a “high-profile case” which had attracted “considerable public awareness”.

Information on Garda station recordings came to light in 2011. How the practice was dealt with by the various arms of the State is now the issue, writes Cormac O’Keeffe

Pressure piled on Justice Minister Alan Shatter to withdraw remarks denigrating a garda whistleblower as a senior Cabinet colleague told him to deal with the issue.

Legal experts have warned that gardaí could have breached two major planks of the law by recording phone calls to and from Garda stations.

Sergeant Maurice McCabe has alleged he is still being subjected to harassment at work over the penalty points issue, the Irish Examiner has learned.

YESTERDAY morning, the resignation of Martin Callinan was just your bog-standard shocking development. By the afternoon, unfolding events had reached back into history and landed on the shores of Grotesque, Unbelievable, Bizarre, Unprecedented.

WHAT a day! We all know the old adage that a week is a long time in politics — sometimes it seems a day can be even longer.

The Garda bugging scandal represents such a threat to State security Enda Kenny was forced to take “personal command” of the situation, Finance Minister Michael Noonan revealed.