Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge the Chairman and the committee's accommodation of this small but not unimportant legislative item. Before I speak to the three technical amendments I intend to move in respect of the Criminal Records (Exchange of Information) Bill 2019, I will briefly summarise the Government’s position in respect of the Bill. As this committee is aware, the Bill is transposing two interrelated EU legislative acts, namely, Council Framework Decision 2009/315/JHA of 26 February 2009 and Council Decision 2009/316/JHA of 6 April 2009 on the establishment of the European criminal records information system, ECRIS. This system allows for the transfer of criminal record information between member states for use in criminal investigations and proceedings and for other proceedings and matters where it may be necessary for authorities to run a check on such information.

It also creates a specific obligation on each member state, for example, Ireland, to inform those other member states when their national citizens are convicted of criminal offences here. In the impending legislation, the National Vetting Bureau of An Garda Síochána exchanges this information with authorities in other member states on an administrative basis and in accordance with the framework decision. This Bill will place those procedures and requirements on a statutory basis. It will not give An Garda Síochána any new powers but rather will codify the procedures to apply to the exchange of criminal records information on relevant EU nationals with other countries in the EU.

The committee will also be aware that we are currently subject to infringement proceedings on account of the delay in our notifying measures for the transposition into our national law of the framework decision. This delay is due to competing legislative priorities during the period since drafting of the Bill was approved. Regard needed to be taken of the new European Commission's proposal, which emerged in intervening times, to change the ECRIS. I am eager to ensure that this situation is addressed. I was pleased that we could approve the publication of the Bill in July 2019. As members will be aware, the Garda National Vetting Bureau has been operating ECRIS on an administrative basis. We are now underpinning this with legislation.

The amendments are related. There are three interconnected amendments relating to section 6(1) of the Bill providing for the general parameters-----