Most Garda recordings likely to have been erased

Most of the material recorded on telephone lines in Garda stations around the State prior to 2008 may have been erased, the Irish Examiner has learned.

The system of recording conversations used physical tapes which were rotated and taped over repeatedly except in exceptional circumstances. This method of recording means that material taped would only be available until it was taped over — often within weeks in the busier stations.

“You might have a tape changed every second week in the busy stations,” a source familiar with the technology used said, “and then that tape would be rotated and maybe three months later would be used again and overwritten”.