Courts / Ireland / Report

Gardai make "thousands of requests" per year for telecoms data, Dwyer action hears

Summary

The High Court heard evidence on the sixth day of an action brought by Graham Dwyer against the State and the Garda Commissioner, seeking to strike down provisions of Ireland's data retention laws. Dwyer, who denies killing childcare worker Elaine O'Hara, claims the 2011 Communications (Retention of Data) Act breached his privacy rights by allowing Gardai to access his mobile phone data during his 2015 trial. His appeal against that conviction remains pending before the Court of Appeal. Retired Detective Chief Superintendent Peter Kirwan, who headed the force's Security and Intelligence section, testified that over 8,000 requests for retained data were made by the Gardai since 2012. He stated such data is vital for detecting crime and locating missing persons, noting that any request, including one concerning O'Hara's murder, must be deemed proportional and necessary. Kirwan affirmed he operated independently of specific investigations and weighed competing interests, including privacy rights, before making formal requests. Dwyer argues the 2011 Act suffers from flaws identified by the European Court of Justice in its 2014 ruling invalidating the underlying EU directive. The application is opposed, and the hearing continues, with the matter expected to conclude next week.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Gardai make "thousands of requests" per year for telecoms data, Dwyer action hears. Procedural stage: appeal

When:

• 2018-03-07 Publication

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Appeal Violent Crime

Read the original CNI report