Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

I am a little bit shocked at the Minister’s flippant response to a very serious situation. He should be aware that shortly after he took office the “Panorama” programme furnished serious information which revealed, without any question or doubt, that substantial amounts of information were emanating from the Dublin offices of News International. The office was presided over by a Ukrainian individual, Alex Marunchak, who had MI5 clearance and operated with MI6. He was very close to Fianna Fáil and the previous Government.

This individual is now the subject of criminal charges of phone hacking in Britain. The evidence is unequivocal that he has employed a network of hackers to gain information illegally to be presented in a slanted way, and, in the Irish context, a politically motivated way, targeting Mary McAleese and Peter Hain. If the Minister does not think it is a matter for investigation that this news outlet operated in this city, around the corner from Leinster House, and had very close relationships with the previous Government, particularly Bertie Ahern’s Administration, he needs to look more deeply into it because these matters involve massive breaches of privacy. The Minister must contrast his non-response with the response of the British Government in that regard.

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