Irish public has ‘clear distrust’ of proposals to allow State access private messages

Two thirds of 1,000-plus Irish adults surveyed said they would not trust the current or a future government with a power to access encrypted messages on apps such as WhatsApp or Signal. Picture: iStock 

The public has “significant and clear distrust” of allowing the State to access private phone messages, according to a survey, amid a bid by the justice minister to intercept encrypted communications.

The poll shows Irish people, across political party affiliations, overwhelmingly believe that they should be able to conduct private conversations online, and the Government should not be able to access such messages without a court order.

Two thirds of more than 1,000 Irish adults surveyed said that they would not trust the current or a future government to have the power to access encrypted messages on messaging applications such as WhatsApp or Signal.

The independent survey was commissioned by the Centre for Democracy and Technology in Britain, and is being published in Ireland by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL).

It follows an announcement by justice minister Jim O’Callaghan last January that he would be introducing legislation which would allow for the interception of all forms of communications — whether encrypted or not — by law enforcement.

He said at the time that he believed any such lawful interception of data could be accompanied by “the necessary privacy, encryption, and digital security safeguards”.

The legislation, known as the Communications (Interception and Lawful Access) Bill, will replace a 1993 law — the Interception of Postal Packets and Telecommunications Messages (Regulation) Act — which was drafted long before the emergence of digital technologies the new law would seek to police.

It is unclear at what stage the new bill is currently. A query to the Department of Justice was not immediately responded to.

The new survey found that a majority of those asked said they would either oppose or expect meaningful constraints on the kinds of powers mooted in the new legislation, with a majority, 58%, believing the benefits of accessing encrypted data would be outweighed by the security risks to the public.

Fewer than 20% said they would trust law enforcement to use a power to access encrypted messages without users’ knowledge only for serious crimes, while 86% expressed concern that hacking encryption lawfully could “open vulnerabilities to make it easier for hackers and criminals to access personal information”, a concern reiterated by the ICCL.

Olga Cronin, head of policy at the ICCL, said that the survey’s results show that “the Irish public instinctively knows that to be able to communicate privately and securely is intrinsic to our lives, relationships, and a free society”. She said: 

Not only does the public understand the value of privacy and security, they see the dangers inherent in removing it.

Encryption in phone messaging became a standard feature on smartphone apps in the wake of the revelation of US security agencies whistleblower Edward Snowden that the US government routinely intercepted and interrogated private messages of citizens.

Tech giant Apple sought an urgent meeting with the Department of Justice in September 2025, stating that a speech by Mr O’Callaghan regarding the possible access of data by An Garda Síochána had caused “alarm” within the top echelons of the company.