Garda surveillance evidence to be used in court

Legislation which would make evidence obtained through Garda surveillance admissible in court is to be brought forward by the Minister for Justice in an effort to tackle gangland crime.

In an address to the Garda Representative Association’s annual conference in Tullow this evening, Brian Lenihan said officials in his department had begun drafting legislation to provide a clear statutory basis for certain forms of surveillance.

He said the move would “help shift the balance against those involved in criminality, particularly the type of gangland crime that gives rise to such death and destruction”.

It is understood that the Minister favours changing the legislation to allow several forms of surveillance be used as evidence but has drawn the line at the use of covertly taped telephone conversations.

He said that while the use of such evidence may in some cases help secure convictions, “we have to avoid as much as possible Garda techniques for intelligence gathering being compromised”.

Gardaí routinely use surveillance operations to monitor the activities of suspected criminals but the evidence obtained is not usually used in court for legal or operational reasons.

Fine Gael’s justice spokesman Charlies Flanagan welcomed the move but said the Minister must go further and allow the use of taped telephone evidence.

Mr Flanagan said: “Last year was the bloodiest on record since the Civil War, and organised criminal activity now represents the single greatest threat to the integrity of the State.

“Round-the-clock monitoring of criminal warlords, both electronically and using Garda manpower, is the only way to break the iron grip of gangland," he said.

Labour’s justice spokesman Pat Rabbitte also welcomed Mr Lenihan’s announcement.

He said: “Most people will have been shocked to learn that the gardaí currently have no legal powers to undertake electronic surveillance of criminal suspects, although these powers form a central part of the anti-crime armoury of most other countries.”