The issue focused on two issues, namely how far the government should go in protecting the rights of those living under surveillance and how long the data is kept.

The privacy commissioner's office released data showing there has been a rise in the number of requests for access to personal data from the GCSB since the beginning of the year.

It shows that from December 2016 to December 2017 data requested by data protection regulators rose from 605 requests per 1 million people, to 945 requests per 1 million people