John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)

It has been brought to my attention repeatedly that given the rules and procedures under which the Garda Síochána operates, its members are often playing catch-up. A key area that has been highlighted to me concerns mobile telephones, which are discardable items. Legislation is required whereby gardaí with reasonable and well-founded concerns can access taps and surveillance within an extremely short time because such telephones are discarded and renewed on a 24-hour basis. They hold a wealth of information for the Garda. While this issue has not been tackled seriously by Members, gardaí have repeatedly told me of cases in which although suspects are taken in, they are unable to pursue the line of information and the mobile telephones are changed. This issue must be addressed as the days when only land lines were available are long gone.

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