Helen Martin to head e-evidence office
The Government has appointed the former head of the Charities Regulator, Helen Martin, as director of the new Office of Criminal Justice International Cooperation.
The office is being set up to streamline cross-border co-operation on criminal digital evidence and to make it easier for EU law-enforcement agencies to obtain and share electronic evidence as part of a criminal investigation.
It was provided for in the Criminal Justice (International Cooperation on Electronic Evidence and Other Matters) Act 2026 to implement the EU’s e-Evidence Package in Ireland.
Production orders
The office will receive and assess notifications under the e-Evidence Regulation, and enforce production and preservation orders on behalf of other member states.
It is estimated that hundreds of thousands production orders a year will be issued to technology and communications providers based in Ireland.
“Implementation of the e-evidence package has significant implications for Ireland, as many large tech organisations headquartered in Ireland will be subject to the new system for processing evidence requests to support criminal investigations and prosecutions,” said Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan.
Martin, appointed after a Top Level Appointments Committee selection process through the Public Appointments Service, is currently a member of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.
She holds a Barrister at Law degree from the King’s Inn, a Bachelor of Civil Law from UCD and a range of qualifications in regulatory and enforcement law. She is a non-practising member of the Law Society.