Kelly’s spy claims to be examined by a judge

A HIGH Court judge is to examine concerns that gardaí may have intercepted emails and phone calls between Labour TD Alan Kelly and Garda whistleblowers.

Mr Kelly has demanded to know if he is being spied on by gardaí after he was warned by a contact to ‘watch his communications’.

He tabled Dáil questions asking if his phone has been bugged and if gardaí have requested his phone, text or email records any time over the last five years.

Now to Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan has referred the case to High Court judge Marie Baker due to of ‘the seriousness of Deputy Kelly’s allegations,’ a justice department spokesman said last night.

Ms Justice Baker oversees the State’s dedicated ‘complaints referee’ in cases of alleged illegal State spying. If she believes there is a case to answer, she will refer Mr Kelly’s case to the complaints referee. The post is currently held by Circuit Court judge John Hannan.

A justice department spokesman said that Mr Flanagan ‘is, of course, concerned about the matters raised by Mr Kelly in respect of his phone and telecommunications data’.

Labour TD Mr Kelly who has been communicating with Maurice McCabe and other Garda whistleblowers, said a contact told him that gardaí may have hacked into his emails or bugged his phone.

Last night he told the Irish Daily Mail he could not disclose the person who has warned him but that everyone would benefit from full disclosure of Garda surveillance of politicians Questions: Labour TD Alan Kelly and reporters. ‘I’m putting in these questions for myself, but also for journalists who are also at risk of interception,’ he said. The lack of legislation to deal with Garda interception of email, text, Facebook and texting was ‘very worrying’, he added.

Earlier, Mr Kelly told RTÉ Radio 1’s Today With Seán O’Rourke said he ‘would not be a 100% confident’ that phone tapping is not going on. ‘The issue was raised with me to watch all my communications... That’s why I’ve asked the question,’ he said.

He said he was very concerned at the State’s ability to intercept email and social media messages, especially after a recent report by former chief justice John Murray said that current laws were in breach of European privacy laws.

Asked about Mr Kelly’s Dáil questions, a Garda spokeswoman said that the force ‘does not comment on named individuals, or third party comments’.