Rapid changes to phone-snooping laws ruled out by Frances Fitzgerald

The Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald has ruled out any rush to change the laws on phone snooping laws. However, the review she has ordered into the legislation will not be completed before she leaves office.

Ms Fitzgerald said she wanted the “strongest possible” legal protections in place for journalists’ sources, saying it was of “fundamental importance”that journalists should be able to carry out their legitimate work unhindered.

However, she has given Mr Justice John Murray three months to make recommendations on what changes might be needed to the powers of gardaí, Revenue, Defence Forces and the Garda Ombudsman (GSOC) to access journalists’ phone records without warrant.