We must not sacrifice our right to privacy

A TREK across the Burren or a stroll along a deserted beach may no longer satisfy our yearning for solitude now that a district court judge has authorised local authorities to conduct covert surveillance of citizens in its “war on waste” (“Hidden camera helps convict three for Cork dumping“, Irish Examiner, June 6).

Of course, scattering rubbish around the countryside is unpleasant (though an obvious consequence of bin charges), but stamping it out is surely not worth the price of one of our most dearly prized civil liberties – €the right to privacy.

Dominic Carroll