Dwyer phone records challenge will not be heard by three-judge court

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Graham Dwyer’s High Court challenge over the use of mobile phone records will not be heard by a three-judge divisional court. The proceedings were reported on 12 January 2018.

Ms Justice Caroline Costello said the President of the High Court, Mr Justice Peter Kelly, did not think the action was appropriate for a divisional court. She added that there were resource issues concerning the availability of judges.

The judge said the case would proceed before Mr Justice Tony O’Connor on 20 February. The hearing was expected to last six to eight days.

Dwyer was charged in October 2013 with the murder of Elaine O’Hara. A Central Criminal Court jury convicted him in March 2015. He was jailed for life, and his appeal against conviction had yet to be heard when the report was published.

In proceedings begun in 2015, Dwyer claims that provisions of the Communications (Retention of Data) Act 2011 breach his privacy rights. He argues that a European Court of Justice ruling means the Irish legislation implementing the underlying directive was illegal and that data collected on his phone was therefore invalid. The court struck down the directive in 2015.

Phone data was admitted at his criminal trial. His lawyers argued that it was inadmissible, but the trial judge rejected their arguments. The State opposes the High Court action, in which Dwyer seeks damages if appropriate and, if necessary, a reference of issues to the European Court of Justice.