Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The ICCL has teed this up very well. Mass surveillance is a very broad issue and Deputy Wallace and I have raised Garda oversight and surveillance in the context of the GSOC bugging scandal, as well as the limitations in our legislation in this respect. We do not agree with the State being empowered to get its hands on anyone's private information, whatever his or her profession.

All citizens should be protected, and I do not believe that anyone should get access to anybody's information in the absence of judicial oversight. The public would have huge sympathy, for example, for protecting journalists who try to highlight the inconvenient truths of the State. We can all agree with that. The circumstance that gave rise to the review was actually unethical behaviour by journalists who wrongfully leaked information from the Garda in a disgustingly intrusive manner into the tragic death of a young woman. Some of the sources GSOC also targeted in its attempts to bring to justice the garda responsible for that criminal conduct also related to my own case, when I was arrested. GSOC requested information for journalist records on that. I can guarantee that there was nothing of interest to the public in any of it. It was a gross violation of my privacy. Mr. Justice Murray did say that journalists have duties and obligations in weighing the public interest against the invasion of citizen's privacy. What is the view of the NUJ on how well those duties and obligations have been enforced by the Irish media in recent years, particularly with regards to privacy, and are there any other measures that could be put in place?