Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

In light of the fact that at least two of the recent Garda controversies - the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission bugging allegations and the Garda tapes - have their roots in Garda covert surveillance practices and, arguably, both could have been prevented or minimised if covert surveillance had been properly overseen and monitored, the Minister needs to clarify to the House the precise devices and communication methods he and the Garda believe are regulated by the relevant legislation and to provide statistics and figures to demonstrate how widespread and frequent Garda covert surveillance practice is, in particular in regard to internal approvals which are not supervised by a judge. The information is not provided in the annual report of the designated judge which was laid before the House.

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