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

The most senior civil servant at the Department of Justice could be called before a Dail committee to explain why a letter about the Garda taping controversy was not seen by Minister Alan Shatter.

The president of the association which represents the country’s frontline gardaí has accused the Government and Department of Justice of abdicating their responsibility in the fight against crime.