Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)

As the Minister said, there are passenger name records in airlines. They are a necessary tool so airlines and airport handling companies can do their jobs. That is not at issue. What is at issue is the information being used for other purposes and being handed over to security forces for reasons other than those intended by the person handing over his or her data.

This started after 11 September 2001, with the US authorities requiring airlines to have this information on flights to and from the USA. We are told the Department of Homeland Security filters sensitive information and does not deal with people's ethnic or religious backgrounds. We do not know that, however, and have no way to guarantee it. The fact the Minister mentioned 19 fields of information shows the range of data being exchanged.

There are fundamental issues at stake. The proposal is being pushed as a measure to tackle the serious issues of terrorism, drug smuggling and human trafficking. These regulations and procedures have been in place in the United States for some time and there is no evidence they have done anything to reduce any of these blights on society. Obviously they have not had that effect, because they do not address the root causes of terrorism, human trafficking and drugs, which are poverty, injustice and inequality. Rather than dealing with those issues, we have instead a knee-jerk reaction that has massive implications for the civil liberties of ordinary EU citizens. By bringing this measure in for all EU flights, we are seeing an invasion of privacy that is akin to surveillance, where information on people is maintained beyond the 30 day period for up to five years, albeit that access to the information would be restricted beyond the 30 days. We do not know, however, to whom the information will be available or to what purpose. The Minister has not addressed any of these questions.

The implications for airlines must be examined. The Minister stated a national passenger information unit will be established, which sounds akin to Big Brother, where people are monitored and their travel movements recorded for five years. That is sinister. Where do the airlines fit in and what is the compensation for them? Airlines are mostly private companies and many of the reservation and handling functions are outsourced as a result of liberalisation in the industry. How will the information be protected given that reality?

This is premature and there is no need for us to do this. It is an opt-in and we should not be opting in because there is no evidence to suggest this will bring any benefit to people anywhere. It will, however, lead to the further erosion of the privacy rights and civil liberties of all citizens. This is a massively retrograde step and we will not support it.

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