Damien Mulley writes about what you should ask when politicians call.

You should ask your candidate (particularly PD or FF TD’s) where they stand on personal privacy. Ask them whether you think the government has any business recording details of the people you telphone, the web pages you look at or the places you go carry your mobile telephone.

If they say that privacy is a fundamental right, then ask them how they voted on the Irish Criminal Justice (Terrorist Offences) Act, 2005 which enshrined government snooping into Irish law. If they say that privacy sometimes has to take second place to security, ask them why they didn’t even allow a debate on the issue in the Dail or in the chamber. The Act was put into law within a few hours with no prior notice.

If your candidate says they don’t know anything about the issue, then ask them why they voted away a fundamental human right without bothering to find out about it.

And if you enjoyed asking this question, don’t forget to make a contribution to Digital Rights Ireland.