THE GARDA has confirmed it has found no evidence that the phone system at the Moriarty tribunal offices in Dublin Castle was tapped or otherwise compromised.
Garda specialists were called in by the tribunal in the days leading up to the publication of its report last week to examine private lines, one of which was believed to be the one used by inquiry chairman Mr Justice Michael Moriarty.
A statement issued by the Garda press office yesterday confirmed that no ongoing investigation was being conducted, inferring that its examination was closed.
“An Garda Síochána has found no evidence of interference with the telephone system at these offices and consequently there is no ongoing investigation into the matter,” said the statement.
The statement also noted that gardaí regularly carried out security checks in State offices and buildings. “These can be conducted as routine or on request and cover both physical and technical infrastructure.”
It is understood that the investigation by gardaí last week centred on the phone of Mr Justice Moriarty and followed concerns within the inquiry that private information may have been accessed by a third party.
Technical experts from the Garda crime and security branch conducted a sweep and examination of the system the week before the report was published but could find no evidence to suggest that conversations had been intercepted.
Tribunal registrar Siobhán Hayes said she had no comment to make on the Garda statement. She also had no comment to make on whether the Garda investigation had focused on Mr Justice Moriarty’s phone.
Tipperary North TD Michael Lowry yesterday claimed that the phone-tapping suggestion was “another far-fetched suspicion” of the tribunal. He accused the inquiry team of suffering from “bunker mentality” and “paranoia”.
Mr Lowry, a former Fine Gael minister for communications who has been severely criticised in the inquiry’s final report, said: “I was not a bit surprised when I found that it was unfounded.
“The tribunal put them into public domain. They made the inquiry. They are suffering from some bunker mentality and some paranoia.
“What would anybody gain from attempting to hack into the chairman’s telephone? It didn’t add up. It made no sense. It was the tribunal that reported this to the gardaí and we heard the response today – absolute nonsense.”
