Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am disappointed the Taoiseach does not know whether we have illegally authorised the monitoring of the sea cable. I am sure the Taoiseach is aware that in April of this year, the European Court of Justice ruled in favour of Digital Rights Ireland and declared the European directive on data retention invalid owing to its serious interference with private life and freedom of expression, thus violating the European Charter of Fundamental Rights. The Taoiseach said we are signing up to a commitment made under the Lisbon treaty but Part 3 is part of an Act introduced in 2008 and things have moved on since then. The fact that Digital Rights Ireland won that case this year changes the goalposts a good bit. It is now possible that we may be breaking different rules in Europe by signing up to this. What assessment of the 2008 law was done following the judgment in Digital Rights Ireland's European Court of Justice case to ensure that the law is in compliance with the European Charter of Fundamental Rights?

We have a serious problem with mass surveillance. Recently, the US was found guilty of spying on Petrobras, the Brazilian oil company, an economic summit, the IMF, the World Bank and the international credit card system, all to gain economic advantage in international competitiveness.

I refer to the type of industries around information which have set up in Ireland. The idea that GCHQ is tapping into cables and getting all the information it wants and sharing it with whoever it wants around the planet should worry the Government.

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