Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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159. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will provide feedback of any communications he has had with the British authorities regarding the alleged tapping of underwater cables by the intelligence authorities in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22605/15]

Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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160. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the actions his Department has taken in response to reports in 2014 of the tapping of underwater cables for intelligence purposes on the part of the Government Communications Headquarters in Britain; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22606/15]

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 159 and 160 together.

When I last addressed this question in Dáil Éireann in January of this year, I confirmed that my Department had been in contact with the British Embassy on the subject of these reports. The messages that were conveyed to the British Embassy were along the lines contained in a letter from my Department’s Secretary General to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade on 9 December 2014.

It was pointed out in this letter to the Committee that the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade works to ensure the best possible bilateral relations between Ireland and other countries, including our nearest neighbours in Great Britain.

It was also pointed out that it is generally understood that friendly relationships between States, including between Ireland and Britain, include acceptance of the principle that the privacy of communications must be respected. This is a principle Ireland has consistently outlined in international fora and in policy statements.