There has been a cautious welcome for draft legislation published today that will allow gardai carry out covert surveillance, including bugging people’s homes in efforts to tackle gangland crime.
Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern brought a Bill before Cabinet today.
The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) said the measures would rectify the complete absence of lawful authority for most existing forms of surveillance.
ICCL director Mark Kelly said: “The Government’s focus on providing a lawful basis for intelligence-led policing marks a more mature approach to combating organised crime.
“It is particularly welcome that the Minister has made an effort to human rights proof these measures, in accordance with Ireland’s obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights.”
He said his organisation would closely monitor the development of the legislation, especially where the issue of Garda-authorised surveillance was concerned.
Fine Gael justice spokesman Charlie Flanagan said the Bill was “long overdue” but would do nothing to address the “dysfunctional” criminal justice system and would “certainly not solve gangland crime”.
Speaking before a Fine Gael private members’ motion in the Dáil tonight on gangland crime Mr Flanagan said the Government, the courts, the prison system and the gardaí were all “operating in separate spheres”.
“Serious criminals are laughing at the ineptitude of the State,” he said.
Mr Flanagan said the number of offences committed by suspects released on bail had risen by 60 per cent in four years, from 15,531 in 2004 to 25,097 in 2007. He said there were also 30,000 outstanding bench warrants and that the Minister had “slashed” funding for the DPP by 3 per cent next year when the office’s workload was growing by 6 per cent per annum.
Labour Party justice spokesman Pat Rabbitte said the approach adopted by the Minister raised questions as to what he actually intended to achieve.
He said it was “arguable” that the heads of Bill published today did little more than providing a statutory basis for existing Garda powers, but only permitting its use in court proceedings in exceptional circumstances.
“The object of this Bill is to enable material obtained by means of covert surveillance to be used as evidence to support or strengthen the case for the prosecution at a criminal trial,” he said.
“On the other hand, however, the heads of the Bill seem designed to prevent the prosecution from producing or relying on any such evidence without obtaining the prior leave of the court.”
Sinn Féin justice spokesman Aengus Ó Snodaigh said legislation compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights was needed to enable gardai and the DPP build "solid cases" against gangland criminals with evidence that is admissible in court.
He said such surveillance must be proportionate and subject to judicial oversight, while protecting against "unwarranted invasions of privacy and harrassment".