The High Court has granted an order requiring telecommunications companies to retain mobile phone user, traffic and location data for 12 months for the purpose of safeguarding the security of the State.
The application was granted to lawyers acting for Minister for Justice Helen McEntee after new legislation came into effect yesterday.
The Communications (Retention of Data) (Amendment) Act 2022 reforms the legislation governing the retention and access of mobile phone metadata in the aftermath of the decisions of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) and the Supreme Court in the action taken by convicted murderer Graham Dwyer.
The Supreme Court ruled, following a decision by the ECJ that Ireland's system of retention of and access to such data, breaches European law.
Under the new legislation, the general and indiscriminate retention of data is permissible only to safeguard the security of the State, where an order is made by a designated High Court judge.
Access to the data has to be approved by a judge or, in urgent circumstances, approval by a senior officer of An Garda Síochána or the Defence Forces.
Before making the application, the minister had to assess the threat to the security of the State and the necessity of retaining such data.
She also consulted with the Garda Commissioner.
The application involved lawyers for the Minister for Justice only and was heard in camera - in private.
