Paddy McHugh (Galway East, Independent)

This item of business has been foisted on this House with unseemly haste. Last night was the first time we became aware of the decision to take this business today. I regard that as an abuse of trust between all of us in this House. There is insufficient time to give full consideration to this measure. Everybody in this House knows the dangers of rushing business through without giving it full attention. We are dealing with a provision which will impact on the rights of our citizens and we cannot approve such a measure without adequate time to consider all the angles. The genesis of this measure is in the events of 11 September 2001 and I agree that we must be vigilant. We need co-operation between various jurisdictions and must ensure that, as far as possible, our people are secure as they travel around the world. However we also need to ensure that the rights of our citizens are not infringed unduly.

This measure arises because the European Court of Justice ruled that the legal basis for the Commission's decision was not appropriate and, in delivering its judgment, allowed the agreement to remain in force until September 2006 to give time for the EU and the US to come up with a new agreement which would effectively have the same outcome. This decision will require the agreement of all member states as well as the EU Commission. One other member remains to approve this new measure. It is essential that we do not rush this through without full debate. We are entitled to take our time, to debate the matter in a full, comprehensive manner because it affects the rights of our citizens. I understand that this is an interim measure, and will lapse next May, but if that is not the case we should not entertain in any circumstances the notion of putting it through the House as it is presented or in the hasty manner in which it has been dealt with. While the need for security is great, we also need to be rational in our approach. We are not at war and our actions should be proportionate and reasonable.

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