Ireland won’t reveal number of phone taps

Outrage has greeted revelations that Ireland was the only one of 29 countries to refuse to allow Vodafone to reveal how many phone taps it had ordered.

The row erupted after the mobile phone giant issued a survey listing interceptions it had been asked to take part in by governments across the globe.

The Irish Government would only allow Vodafone to reveal the State requested metadata — general electronic footprint of individual users — in 4,124 instances in the year to the end of March.

Ireland’s biggest mobile provider was banned by the Department of Justice from releasing more detail, including the number of voice interceptions.

Irish Council for Civil Liberties director Mark Kelly said: “This highlights once again the need for a comprehensive overhaul of Ireland’s legal interception powers to render them fit for the internet age.”

Referring to the Irish situation, Vodafone said “we asked the authorities for guidance and have been informed that we cannot disclose this information”.

The Government defended its decision not to disclose the number of wire taps, saying it could impact on national security or criminal investigations.