Watching the detectives: regulation needed to monitor gardaí

Unlike the people they have put under surveillance, the gardaí in charge of such activities are not being watched closely enough. More regulation is required, says Wexford TD Mick Wallace.

LAST week, I asked Justice Minister Alan Shatter to give the Dáil an itemised list of communication/correspondence that both he and An Garda Síochána agree are regulated by the current legislation relating to covert surveillance, and to specify if and to what extent the covert surveillance of a citizen’s email or internet usage is regulated.

The Irish Human Rights Commission, the statutory body established to advise the Government on compliance with human rights, recently reiterated its concern that the relevant legislation has “significant gaps”. Mr Shatter refused to provide that list and willfully misunderstood the request, stating that “it is not the practice for obvious security reasons to reveal details of equipment in use by An Garda Síochána”.