'Day of reckoning': defence in Lunney trial criticises government inaction of data law

A barrister representing one of three men charged with the abduction and assault of Quinn Industrial Holdings director Kevin Lunney has criticised the government's failure to introduce legislation governing gardai access to mobile phone data. Michael O'Higgins SC told the Special Criminal Court that a "day of reckoning" has arrived following the State's inaction since court rulings and reports from 2012 onwards exposed legislative deficiencies. Three men, including a 40-year-old who cannot be named by court order, Alan O'Brien, aged 40, and Darren Redmond, aged 27, both from East Wall, Dublin, and Luke O'Reilly, aged 67, of Mullahoran Lower, Kilcogy, County Cavan, have all pleaded not guilty to false imprisonment and intentionally causing serious harm to Mr Lunney on 17 September 2019 at Ballinagh, County Cavan. Mr O'Higgins argued that evidence obtained via mobile phone data accessed through search warrants should be ruled inadmissible, as the relevant legislation lacks necessary safeguards. He noted that a Supreme Court ruling in January 2019 found the Communications (Retention of Data) Act 2011 inconsistent with European law.