Mr. Simon McGarr:

Unquestionably, it is necessary to have a limited number of officers. If there is going to be a system where certain designated people can seek to have access to information, they must be given the necessary training to allow them to do that, otherwise they are not in a position to perform their duty sufficiently. What would be valuable is not so much to set out the training they should get, but rather to clearly set out what the duties are and ensure that the training gives them the information they need in order to perform those duties. Putting descriptions of training into legislation is probably a way of building in obsolescence where a fast-moving topic like data retention is concerned.