Electronic surveillance - Phone taps not to be taken lightly

THE bad name of phone tapping is hardly surprising given the scandal over the outrageous bugging of prominent Irish journalists by former Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael governments.

Thus, the call by the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) for greater latitude in tapping the phones of major drug dealers and criminals is bound to stir debate.

Nothing could be more reminiscent of George Orwell’s satire, 1984, depicting the state as Big Brother, than the tapping of three journalists’ phones during the 1980s.