Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. O'Brien. I also have a few technical questions. Was the sweep confined to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission's building or was there a further examination of Mr. O'Brien's own home or his personal mobile phone? If Mr. O'Brien perceived a threat against the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, surely he would also examine his own telephones or telecommunications at home. He also mentioned that the sweep had been carried out at night time. Modern technology suggests most of the transmission in eavesdropping can be carried out in bursts. One need not wait until evening time, as it can be carried out during the day and can hide among all of the other telecommunications traffic within an office. Consequently, performing sweeps at night often will not disclose any traffic. Has there been a suggestion that GSOC might carry out a sweep of the office while it is active, now that this matter is in the public domain and, presumably, everyone in the office is aware of it? GSOC might then find other potential threats.

On a related matter in respect of the third threat, Mr. O'Brien stated the level of technology involved was only available to Government agencies. That suggests an increased threat over and beyond that posed by an individual. There are questions as to the type of equipment that would be required to present that level of threat. Was it a piece of equipment that could be converted for use on the United Kingdom's 3G mobile network and could be switched to some of the other mobile networks in Ireland? In this day and age most equipment is easily convertible to capture whatever network is in use in an area.