Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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565. To ask the Minister for Defence with regard to the Interception of Postal Packets and Telecommunications Messages (Regulation) Act 1993 and Section 6(1) thereof, the number of applications for authorising an interception in the interests of the security of the State that he or his Department have received from the Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces since 9 March 2011; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9074/14]

Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail)
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568. To ask the Minister for Defence the number of times the Defence Forces applied to the courts to mount surveillance or interception operations under the Interception of Postal Packets and Telecommunications Messages (Regulation) Act 1993 in the past five years. [9193/14]

Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail)
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569. To ask the Minister for Defence the number of times the courts either rejected or accepted the grounds put forward by the Defence Forces for using surveillance or interception methods permitted under the Interception of Postal Packets and Telecommunications Messages (Regulation) Act 1993 during the past five years. [9194/14]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 565, 568 and 569 together.

The Interception of Postal Packets and Telecommunications Messages (Regulation) Act, 1993 sets out the conditions under which, in the interest of the security of the State, authorisation may be granted for interception by the Defence Forces of certain postal packages and telecommunications messages. The capabilities of the Defence Forces in this area are subject to the restrictions and safeguards that are outlined in the legislation. These include a system of judicial supervision, with reports submitted to the Taoiseach by a designated Judge appointed by the President of the High Court. These reports are then laid before each House of the Oireachtas.For security and operational reasons, it would not be appropriate for me to provide the details sought in the questions.