Postal and Telecommunications Services Act 1983

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Postal and Telecommunications Services Act 1983

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Prohibition on interception of telecommunications messages.

98.—(1) A person who—

(a) intercepts or attempts to intercept, or

(b) authorises, suffers or permits another person to intercept, or

telecommunications messages being transmitted by the company or who discloses the existence, substance or purport of any such message which has been intercepted or uses for any purpose any information obtained from any such message shall be guilty of an offence.

(2) Subsection (1) shall not apply to any person who is acting—

(a) (i) for the purpose of an investigation by a member of the Garda Síochána of a suspected offence under section 13 of the Post Office (Amendment) Act, 1951 (which refers to telecommunications messages of an obscene, menacing or similar character) on the complaint of a person claiming to have received such a message, or

(ii) in pursuance of a direction issued by the Minister under section 110, or

(iii) under other lawful authority, or

(b) in the course of and to the extent required by his operating duties or duties for or in connection with the installation or maintenance of a line, apparatus or equipment for the transmission of telecommunications messages by the company.

F75[(2A) A person employed by the company who discloses to any person any information concerning the use made of telecommunications services provided for any other person by the company shall be guilty of an offence unless the disclosure is made—

(a) at the request or with the consent of that other person,

(b) for the prevention or detection of crime or for the purpose of any criminal proceedings,

(d) in pursuance of an order of a court,

(e) for the purpose of civil proceedings in any court, F76[…]

(f) to another person to whom he is required, in the course of his duty as such employee, to make such F77[disclosure, or]

F78[(g) to an officer of the Minister or an authorised officer of the Director for the purpose of any monitoring in accordance with section III (8).]

(2B) A request by a member of the Garda Síochána to a person employed by the company to make a disclosure in accordance with the provisions of subsection (2A) shall be in writing and be signed by a member of the Garda Síochána not below the rank of chief superintendent.

(2C) A request by an officer of the Defence Forces to a person employed by the company to make a disclosure in accordance with the provisions of subsection (2A) shall be in writing and be signed by an officer of the Permanent Defence Force who holds an army rank not below that of colonel.]

F78[(2D) A request by an officer of the Minister or an authorised officer of the Director to a person employed by the company to make a disclosure in accordance with the provisions of subsection (2A) shall be in writing and, as the case may be, signed by an officer of the Minister authorised in that behalf by the Minister or an authorised officer of the Director authorised in that behalf by the Director.]

F79[(2E) A request by a designated officer of the Police Ombudsman to a person employed by the company to make a disclosure in accordance with the provisions of subsection (2A) shall be in writing and be signed by a senior designated officer of the Police Ombudsman authorised by the Police Ombudsman for the purposes of this section.]

(3) F80[…]

(4) (a) The Minister may make regulations prohibiting the provision or operation of overhearing facilities in relation to any apparatus (including private branch telephone exchanges) connected to the network of the company otherwise than in accordance with such conditions as he considers to be reasonable and prescribes in the regulations.

(b) A person who contravenes any regulation under this subsection shall be guilty of an offence.

F81[(5) A person who discloses the existence, substance or purport of a telecommunications message that was transmitted by the Minister before the vesting day and intercepted or who uses for any purpose any information obtained from any such message shall be guilty of an offence.

(6) In this section "intercept" means listen to, or record by any means, in the course of its transmission, a telecommunications message but does not include such listening or recording where either the person on whose behalf the message is transmitted or the person intended to receive the message has consented to the listening or recording, and cognate words shall be construed accordingly.] F82[Neither does it include any filtering mechanisms or processes utilised by undertakings for the purposes of preventing unsolicited commercial emails where such a service has been requested or accepted by a subscriber or user, having first been provided with clear and comprehensive information about the purposes of such filtering.]

F79[(7) In this section—

"Act of 2024 means the Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024;

"designated officer of the Police Ombudsman" means a designated officer within the meaning of the Act of 2024;

"senior designated officer of the Police Ombudsman" means a senior designated officer within the meaning of the Act of 2024.]

Annotations

Amendments:

F75

Inserted (6.06.1993) by Interception of Postal Packets and Telecommunications Messages (Regulation) Act 1993 (10/1993), s. 13(2), commenced on enactment.

F76

Deleted (23.06.1997) by European Communities (Telecommunications Services Monitoring) Regulations 1997 (S.I. No. 284 of 1997), reg. 4(a)(i).

F77

Substituted (23.06.1997) by European Communities (Telecommunications Services Monitoring) Regulations 1997 (S.I. No. 284 of 1997), reg. 4(a)(i).

F78

Inserted (23.06.1997) by European Communities (Telecommunications Services Monitoring) Regulations 1997 (S.I. No. 284 of 1997), reg. 4(a)(ii).

F79

Inserted (2.04.2025) by Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024 (1/2024), ss. 268(a), (b), S.I. No. 107 of 2025.

F80

Repealed (9.04.1999) by Postal and Telecommunications Services (Amendment) Act 1999 (5/1999), s. 3(1) and sch., S.I. No. 87 of 1999, art. 3.

F81

Substituted and inserted (6.06.1993) by Interception of Postal Packets and Telecommunications Messages (Regulation) Act 1993 (10/1993), s. 13(3), commenced on enactment.

F82

Inserted (6.11.2003) by European Communities (Electronic Communications Networks and Services) (Data Protection and Privacy) Regulations 2003 (S.I. No. 535 of 2003), reg. 23(5), in operation as per reg. 1(2).

Modifications (not altering text):

C50

Application of section restricted (6.11.2003) by European Communities (Electronic Communications Networks and Services) (Data Protection and Privacy) Regulations 2003 (S.I. No. 535 of 2003), reg. 5(3), in operation as per reg. 1(2).

Confidentiality of communications

5.— ...

(3) Section 98 of the Act of 1983 does not apply to:technical storage of communications and the related traffic data which is necessary for the conveyance of a communication without prejudice to the principle of confidentiality.

C51

References to "the company" or to "Bord Telecom Éireann" construed as references to “a licensed operator” (9.04.1999) by Postal and Telecommunications Services (Amendment) Act 1999 (5/1999), s. 7(1), (3), S.I. No. 87 of 1999, art. 3.

Application to all licenced operators of certain provisions.

7.—(1) A reference to the company or to Bord Telecom Éireann, as the case may be, in section 13 of the Post Office (Amendment) Act, 1951, sections 52(2), 96(d), 98, 99 and 110 of the Act of 1983, section 7 of the Broadcasting and Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1988, and in the Interception of Postal Packets and Telecommunications Messages (Regulation) Act, 1993 shall be construed as a reference to “a licensed operator”.

(2) ...

(3) In this section “licensed operator” means the company or any person licensed under subsection (2) or (3) of section 111 of the Act of 1983.

C52

Application of section restricted, subs. (2) extended (6.06.1993) by Interception of Postal Packets and Telecommunications Messages (Regulation) Act 1993 (10/1993), ss. 10(1)(a) (as amended), 13(1), commenced on enactment.

Provisions in relation to certain proceedings and evidence.

10.—(1) (a) Subject to paragraph (b) of this subsection, where a person is charged with an offence under section 45 of the Telegraph Act, 1863, the second paragraph of section 11 of the Post Office (Protection) Act, 1884, or [section 53 of the Communications Regulation (Postal Services) Act 2011 or section 98 of the Act of 1983], or an ancillary offence, no further proceedings in the matter (other than any remand in custody or on bail) shall be taken except by or with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

(b) Paragraph (a) of this subsection does not apply to proceedings brought by the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications, An Post or Bord Telecom Éireann.

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Amendment of Act of 1983.

13.—(1) The reference in subsection (2) of section 98 of the Act of 1983 to subsection (1) of that section shall be deemed to include a reference to section 45 of the Telegraph Act, 1863, the second paragraph of section 11 of the Post Office (Protection) Act, 1884, and subsection (5) (inserted by subsection (3) of this section) of the said section 98.

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