Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

To compare this with the UK, oversight of phone tapping there is carried out on a full-time basis by an interception of communications commissioner with 13 support staff. The UK commissioner publishes detailed, twice yearly reports, statistics on the number of interception warrants issued and errors made and the safeguards in place. There is no comparison with what we are doing.

I am not giving out about the judge. I am giving out about the system and the poor legislation around it. The designated judge turns up on the day, looks at the bundles, and says, "I will look at two of these, one of those and three of the others." That is not oversight but that is what is happening. We have spoken to the gardaí who actually presented these to the judge. It is not international best practice. As T. J. McIntyre has pointed out on numerous occasions, we are in the dark ages in comparison with what other countries are doing in this area. It is a very dangerous area and we should tighten it up.

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