The use of CCTV cameras in public places should require ministerial permission, and notices informing people of their use should be displayed, according to a solicitor specialising in criminal law.
Mr Michael Staines told the Law Society conference that some forms of State invasion of a citizen's privacy were controlled by law, but others were not.
"The right to privacy is a fundamental right," he said. "Competing interests such as the investigation of crime or the protection of State security may have to dilute that right. However, any such diminution in the right to privacy must be regulated and stringent safeguards put in place." The best form of safeguard is where a separate arm of government, such as the judiciary, can ensure that the correct procedures are being carried out by the Garda Síochána.
He said the power of the Minister for Justice to permit the opening of letters or the interception of phone calls should only exist where the security of the State was at risk. In normal criminal matters, it should be handled by the judiciary.
However, while safeguards existed in relation to letters and telephone communication, none did concerning the interception or recording of conversations between people either in public or in private, surveillance of specified persons or the use of CCTV to monitor specified places.
Mr Joe Meade, the data protection commissioner, said privacy legislation did exist in the form of data protection legislation. The Data Protection Acts set out the rights of individuals and the responsibilities of the users of personal data. Personal data included DNA, genetic data, medical data, CCTV images and information on the web. The rules governing it require the data held to be accurate and up to date, to be required for a specific purpose and to be kept for a limited time.
Dr Alpha Connelly, chief executive of the Human Rights Commission, said the law in relation to privacy needed to be reformed.