Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We do have judicial oversight. Judicial oversight is very important. This particular area is not one in respect of which, for obvious reasons, we would have a huge amount of detail, but the seriousness with which judges take their role in terms of the oversight they must have in place should not be underestimated. There is no question, as the Deputy appeared to be implying in his remarks, of widespread or unsupervised mass surveillance on members of the public by the State. The Deputy should be very clear about that. That would not be lawful and it does not happen. To suggest it does is to misrepresent the legal powers available to the relevant statutory bodies, who use those powers in only very specific circumstances.

In regard to the point about journalists, the Deputy will be aware that I have initiated a review in this area, to include a review of international best practice. If there is need for further supervision then, of course, that should be considered.

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