Justice Minister Helen McEntee: 'I do not want a situation where An Garda Síochána have their hands tied behind their backs.' File picture: Gareth Chaney

The Cabinet has signed off on the drafting of emergency legislation to allow gardaí to access retained phone data in the wake of the Graham Dwyer murder trial ruling.

Justice Minister Helen McEntee has received the approval to fast-track legislation to address the impact of recent judgments of the European Court of Justice, that found Ireland’s system of general and indiscriminate retention of data for the investigation of serious crime breaches EU laws.

In a landmark judgment in December 2018, following a case taken by Dwyer, the High Court ruled that retention of data was contrary to EU privacy rights.

The State appealed the case to the Supreme Court, which, in turn, referred the legality issue to the ECJ for a ruling.

Speaking after Cabinet, Ms McEntee said: “While I do not want to comment on the specifics of cases which are before the courts, I have been clear that I do not want a situation where An Garda Síochána have their hands tied behind their backs."

She said access to telecommunications data has become "ever more important" for the detection, investigation, and prosecution of crime and for safeguarding the security of the State.

We need to acknowledge that gardaí require access to data to do their jobs and keep us safe, and that there are occasions when the interests of public safety, fighting crime, and national security must override the absolute right to privacy.

“There should always be safeguards and protections when it comes to accessing data, but we must not allow the balance to shift too far away from keeping people safe and fighting crime," Ms McEntee said.

The proposed legislation will have two main objectives.

Firstly, it will provide for amendments to the current rules on general and indiscriminate retention of data from telephony and internet communications for national security purposes.

Secondly, provisions will be made for new access provisions including two new types of orders which will strengthen the capacity of An Garda Síochána to secure and access all forms of electronic data for the purpose of specific criminal investigations or proceedings.

Ms McEntee intends to have the general scheme of a bill ready for approval in the coming weeks.

Separately, Cabinet discussed the progress report on the economic recovery plan 2021.

Read MoreGraham Dwyer: Cork murderer lived a darker double life

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