Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy's amendment provides for the insertion of a new section in the Criminal Justice (Terrorist Offences) (Amendment) Bill prohibiting the transfer of data to another jurisdiction for the purpose of it being used against an individual who has already stood trial and been acquitted in this jurisdiction. On a technical point, the Criminal Justice (Terrorist Offences) (Amendment) Bill 2014, amends the Criminal Justice (Terrorist Offences) Act of 2005 with the inclusion of three new offences and the definition of terrorist linked activities. The 2005 Act is the parent Act with regard to terrorism.

In this Bill, any transfer of data to another jurisdiction is governed by EU law and the terms of the Council of Europe convention on the prevention of terrorism, the text of which is set out in Schedule 2 to the Bill. Paragraph 2 of Article 17 of the convention provides that parties will carry out their obligations in respect of international co-operation and criminal matters in conformity with any treaties or other agreements on mutual legal assistance that may exist between them. In the absence of such treaties and agreements, parties will provide assistance to one another in accordance with domestic law.

The legal advice from the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel is that the provisions of the Criminal Justice (Mutual Assistance) Act of 2008, as amended, apply in this case and no further provision is required in this Bill as proposed by the amendment. The Criminal Justice (Mutual Assistance) Act provides the legal framework for the provision of assistance that applies to offences across the Statute Book and it is appropriate for all requests for assistance and transfers of data to be dealt with in the context of the mutual assistance framework, which is used all the time, rather than in individual legislative provision. There are restrictions on providing the assistance contained in the Criminal Justice (Mutual Assistance) Act and, in the context of international agreements concerning mutual assistance arrangements to which the State is a party, that is the framework in which business is done and decisions are taken.

Data protection legislation also provides a certain amount of checks and balances on data protection and transfers of data. Requests for assistance and mutual assistance or the restrictions on it come under the mutual assistance legislation. Data protection legislation also applies and, together, they provide a sufficiently robust regime to protect data transfers. I will not accept the amendment. The advice from the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel is that it is appropriate that any requests for the exchange of information or assistance are dealt with under the Criminal Justice (Mutual Assistance) Act. If the Deputy has amendments to suggest, that is the Act that deals with it in a holistic way.