The State has agreed to a dismissal of its appeal against Graham Dwyer’s successful challenge against our law on mobile phone data retention.
Today’s development is likely to pave the way for Dwyer to launch an appeal against his conviction for the murder of Elaine O’Hara.
Last month, the Court of Justice of the EU found that our laws in relation to the storage of certain mobile phone data, including call records and a device’s rough location at any given time, is inconsistent with EU law.
This metadata proved crucial in the successful prosecution of Graham Dwyer for the 2012 murder of Elaine O’Hara.
Following a challenge by Dwyer four years ago, the High Court ruled that the way this data was being retained was “too general and indiscriminate.”
The State appealed that decision to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court referred it to Europe, and Europe sided with Dwyer.
In the wake of that ruling, the State has now dropped its Supreme Court appeal, which paves the way for the High Court’s decision to be affirmed.
Once that’s done, Dwyer is expected to move ahead with the appeal against his murder conviction.
Reporting by Frank Greaney
