The Irish government has approved new legislation that will grant police specific legal powers to search seized digital devices, including a mechanism “for authorising examination of devices seized without prior judicial approval.”
Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan announced the Garda Síochána (Powers) Bill 2025 on December 27th, the day after St. Stephen’s Day. The timing of the announcement, during a period of minimal political activity, comes as the state moves to update how investigators handle personal data and physical property.
According to the Government’s framing, it is largely a consolidation of existing powers into one more accessible piece of legislation.
The Bill creates a set of written rules for the seizure and forensic examination of electronic devices. It introduces tailored search warrants for digital data and establishes a legal process to allow the examination of devices that police have already seized without a prior judge’s approval.
The government stated the legislation is a response to court rulings. Under Section 23 of the Bill, individuals will have a right to be told when their data is being accessed, a measure intended to align Irish law with European privacy standards following the Landeck judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union.
Minister O’Callaghan said in a statement that it was important that the law in this area was clear. He added that the search warrant regime was being made future-proof with what the government described as relevant safeguards.
The legislation also sets out how privileged information, such as confidential communications between lawyers and clients or journalists and their sources, must be handled. While the government described legal privilege as absolute, other claims of confidentiality will be managed through a court-supervised process.
If there is a dispute over whether police can access certain files, the High Court may be called upon to make a final ruling under Section 24 of the Bill.
Beyond digital searches, the Bill updates several everyday policing powers. It mandates that Gardaí create a formal record of every search of a person or vehicle in a public place. It also puts the existing right to have a lawyer present during interviews into written law and provides for the electronic recording of all Garda interviews.
The law brings together various existing police powers into a single Act. The Minister described the Bill as being grounded in the principle that human rights are the foundation and purpose of policing. He said the new rules aim to protect both the rights of those suspected of a crime and the rights of the public to live free from violence and crime.
The full text of the Bill is expected to be formally published by the Oireachtas “in due course”.