Labour TD Alan Kelly asks whether his phone has been bugged by gardaí
Labour TD for Tipperary Alan Kelly has formally asked the Minister for Justice if his phone has ever been bugged by An Garda Síochána or if his communications have ever been intercepted by the gardaí.
Mr Kelly says that although he would not have felt the need to ask such a question two years ago, he felt that it was necessary to ask now in light of recent events surrounding the force.
Speaking this morning on Today with Sean O’Rourke, Mr Kelly said: "I would have serious concern for people who work as public representatives."
When asked why he felt his communications, in particular, may be under surveillance, Mr Kelly responded: "I have done this for two reasons.
"One is because it has been raised with me - be very clear about this - raised with me to watch all my communications.
"These are some people who obviously I have been working with for some period of time, as you are well aware, given the questions I have been asking over the last number of months in particular."
The second reason given by Mr Kelly was that he hoped to get a discussion going on legislation surrounding the monitoring of communications.
"My main concern here is to find out are people like journalists and deputies protected under the law," the Tipperary TD said.
"The second thing I want to know is, is the legislation robust?...They are the motivations behind why I have asked these questions.
"And I am fully entitled to do so given everything that has gone on."
You can listen to the full interview below.
