Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I will speak to amendments Nos. 7 and 12. The Deputy will not be surprised to hear I cannot accept these amendments. Our obligation in transposing the EU Council decision involves transposing each and every article that is relevant from a domestic perspective. Section 5 of the Bill gives effect, in line with legal advice, to Article 7 of the Council decision. Article 7.1 provides that "Member States shall deal with any request by Europol to initiate" an investigation. I remind the committee that section 7 of the Bill sets out the action to be taken following a request from Europol to initiate an investigation. In effect, decisions on whether to initiate investigations are made on a case by case basis. The relevant authorities in the State may refuse any such request in line with the provisions of section 7(2). Therefore, in order to comply with the Council decision, we must accept all requests from Europol. However, there is no obligation whatsoever to comply with such requests. I am refusing to accept the amendment to section 5 on the basis that it would undermine our compliance with the Council decision. The provisions of section 7 ensure there is no obligation on the State to comply with any request accepted. For that reason, I am not accepting amendment No. 12 either.