Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 260: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform when he expects electronic eavesdropping technology to be used against organised criminal gangs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27786/07]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The Garda Síochána already has available to it and makes active use of various forms of covert surveillance against suspects, including against suspected members of organised crime gangs. For obvious reasons of security, however, it would not be appropriate for me to detail the kinds of covert surveillance techniques used and the circumstances under which they may be deployed.

Apart from the use of covert surveillance techniques to gather criminal intelligence, I have asked my Department and the Garda authorities to examine whether it should be possible, as a matter of law, to use material gained as a result of covert surveillance as part of the prosecution case against a defendant. This is a complex issue, as allowing the use of this material as evidence could compromise methods used by — and intelligence available to — the Garda Síochána.

In any event, the criminal law has already undergone significant reform to counter the threat posed by organised crime. Nevertheless, I will continue to examine, in conjunction with the Garda authorities, whether further statutory provisions are required.