Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 62: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will confirm that more than 10,000 requests were made by the Garda during 2006 under the Criminal Justice (Terrorist Offences) Act 2005 for access to personal telephone records; his views on the view of the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner that such a number of applications suggests that innocent people are having their private records pored over; the breakdown of the requests submitted in regard to those arising from investigations into terrorist offences, drugs offences and other serious offences; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12902/07]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The retention of and access to telecommunications traffic and location data are governed by the provisions of Part 7 of the Criminal Justice (Terrorist Offences) Act 2005. It is not the practice and it would be contrary to the public interest to disclose the details of data access requests, including their number or the types of offences to which they relate.

I do not accept — and, in fact, categorically reject — any suggestion that the provisions of the 2005 Act are being improperly used or that innocent persons have reason to fear for their privacy by virtue of the operation of that Act.

It is important to bear in mind that requests by the Garda Síochána for access to call data — and I emphasise that this does not involve access to the content of telephone calls — are made in the context of investigations into criminal activity. In this regard, Part 7 of the 2005 Act provides that data access requests to telecommunications service providers may only be made for the purposes of:

the prevention, detection, investigation or prosecution of crime; or

the safeguarding of the security of the State.

The Garda Síochána makes such requests only where these conditions apply. Furthermore, these requests are filtered by senior Garda officers before the telecommunications service providers are requested to disclose the data; not all requests by investigating Gardaí result in requests to the telecommunications service providers. It should also be noted that Garda investigations into murders, gun-related crime, so-called 'tiger' kidnappings and drug-related crime tend to generate large volumes of requests, as do investigations into nuisance, obscene or threatening telephone calls.

Finally, Part 7 of the 2005 Act introduced for the first time robust accountability arrangements and counter-balancing safeguards to protect personal data. These arrangements include a statutory complaints procedure overseen by a Judge of the Circuit Court, as well as a statutory oversight procedure overseen by a Judge of the High Court.