A gangland criminal who made a phone call from prison to an RTÉ radio talk show could face up to five additional years in prison following the launch of a Garda inquiry into the matter.
Some RTÉ personnel have already been interviewed by gardaí investigating the call from convicted armed robber John Daly to broadcaster Joe Duffy's Liveline programme, The Irish Times has learned.
Daly rang from his cell in Portlaoise maximum security prison on a smuggled mobile phone telephone, prompting criticism from Opposition parties that prison had become a "soft option".
He was still on air contributing to the programme when a prison officer went into his cell to bring the phone call to an end. "I can't stay long, I can't stay long, I'm ringing from my cell," he said.
He rang in to take issue with a journalist over a story alleging he had fallen out with another Finglas man, Alan Bradley (32). Bradley was also on the radio programme.
Daly's phone and Sim card were confiscated and he was transferred immediately to Cork Prison.
The RTÉ staff who have been interviewed by investigating gardaí are being treated as "technical witnesses". They have been asked to give details of the circumstances of the call to the station.
While no prison staff have yet been interviewed, it is expected they will be contacted soon by gardaí.
It is thought the officer who disturbed Daly's call will also be treated as a technical witness.The seized mobile on which the call was made has been handed over to gardaí.
Daly is currently nearing the end of a nine-year sentence for armed robbery.
However, under new legislation introduced just weeks before the phone call, he could face staying in prison for a much longer period.
Under the Prisons Act 2007, possession or use of a mobile phone is punishable with a term of imprisonment of up to 12 months and a fine of up to €5,000 if dealt with summarily.
However, if dealt with under indictment, the offence carries a term of imprisonment of up to five years and a fine of up to €10,000.
Daly (27), of Cloonlara Drive, Finglas, Dublin, made the phone call on May 1st. The Prisons Act came into effect exactly a month earlier.
The breach of security was a political embarrassment to Tánaiste and Minister for Justice Michael McDowell coming as it did during the general election campaign.
One week after the call was made, gardaí raided Portlaoise Prison. They found three flat-screen TVs, two budgerigars, a large number of mobile phones, five Sim cards, and a number of telephone chargers and batteries.
The search party also found a large number of items which suggested drug abuse at the jail.
Daly was jailed after he and another man robbed a service station on the Finglas Road with a sawn-off shotgun on January 24th, 1999, and the same station again on February 1st, 1999. When Daly was arrested a sum of almost £4,000 was found in his possession.
Judge Elizabeth Dunne imposed a total of six years for the robbery and firearms charges and three years for handling stolen property, to be served consecutively.
