Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Fianna Fáil supports this Bill. It will help to empower the pan-European policing organisation, Europol, to combat international criminal gangs. The creation of pan-European freedom of movement in goods and capital has inevitably generated transcontinental criminal movements. The Bill equips Europol to help member state police forces to work together in tackling gangs involved in serious criminality across the EU and its borders. The Bill, as the Minister said, is technical in nature. It is a measure to give regard to the change in status of Europol.

Europol is the European law enforcement agency and the Council decision necessitating the Bill means it will come under the functions and institutions of the European Union. Prior to this, Europol was a separate international institution that assisted EU member states in fighting serious international crime, including terrorism, international drug trafficking, money laundering, fraud, counterfeiting, human trafficking and cyber-crime, all issues that seriously affect every community in this country.

The proliferation of international gangs is clear in the international sources for the drugs trade that fuel violence in Irish cities. So far in 2012, after a bloody September, 13 people have been killed as a result of gangland crime in comparison with a total of 11 in 2012. Many Irish gangs operate from Spain or source drugs from the Continent. Eastern European crime gangs have engaged in organised domestic burglaries across the EU, affecting numerous member states. Clearly, international cross-border crime is a major issue and Europol must be equipped to deal with.

Europol does not represent the creation of an EU police force. Justice remains the primary concern of the member states in the EU, with two pillars of the Union looking at common justice issues and co-operation. Europol complements the hard work of the Garda Síochána and does not in any way seek to replace it. It can only act on request when two or more members states are involved and where there are factual indications that organised crime is involved. Europol cannot arrest persons nor can it conduct home searches. It facilitates exchanges of information between member states, analyses intelligence and co-ordinates cross-jurisdictional operations. This Bill places Europol under the clear remit of the EU and subjects it to financial and administrative scrutiny and accountability, as we expect of EU institutions. In 2010, the budget of Europol was almost €93 million, with 698 staff employed at its headquarters in The Hague, including 129 liaison officers. As a result of this Bill, there will be greater accountability in the organisation.

The tackling of organised crime has been mentioned and it is important to remind Members of a number of operations that have affected this jurisdiction, some of which the Minister mentioned. Operation Icarus tackled online child abuse, an issue that has come to the fore recently, with a number of current affairs programmes on it as recently as this week. Unfortunately, it has led to the deaths of some people who have taken their own lives as a result of online cyber-bullying, an issue we will return to under different legislation. This is a scourge in our communities and it is not just an issue that affects younger citizens. There are well-documented instances of adults and elderly people being victims of cyber-bullying. I note there is legislation on the B list of the Government legislation programme, the criminal justice (cybercrime) Bill, but that is concerned with cyber attacks on IT systems and does not address bullying. We must come back to this issue.

Another operation, Operation Seaweed, led to the closing down of a counterfeit operation in Borris-in-Ossory, while Operation Shovel focused on a very violent Irish-based crime gang involved in drugs and weapons trafficking. That shows the Garda interacting with Europol to tackle these issues.

On the future of Europol, there are broader issues that must be addressed. A recent report by the RAND Corporation think tank in the United States highlighted tensions between member states trying to support the operations while maintaining the primacy of the member states. The report identified four specific areas that needed further analysis. The first was evaluating whether and how the requirement contained in Article 8.4 for member states to share information with Europol is implemented. The second was understanding the scope for further involvement by Europol in joint investigation teams. The third issue was the collecting of information about the impact of the staff regulations on Europol's operations, and the fourth was identifying any possible ways the current negotiated operating arrangements could be streamlined in preparation for a new regulation. This all shows that as crime evolves, so too should the means to combat it.

The Minister referred to the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner and data protection. Almost every Bill coming through the House that involves people's personal details are being collected and kept must contain a reference to the Data Protection Commissioner. From time to time we hear of people's personal data falling into the wrong hands for whatever reason. We must give serious consideration to the resourcing of the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner because the workload which is coming through these Houses is directly impacting on that office and its role and responsibilities. We recognise the constraints under the recruitment embargo but we must channel some staff to give the Data Protection Commissioner more resources to deal with the legislation that is being introduced.

Yesterday we agreed in the Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality to ask the Garda Commissioner to attend to address the issues that are afflicting Dublin and the wider community as a result of gangland criminality, drugs, theft and burglary. Should the Garda Commissioner take up our invitation, it would be interesting to get an oversight from him about interaction with Europol. He might give us an insight into how it is of benefit in the fight against crime in Ireland.

The area of human trafficking is also significant and I note the Department of Justice and Equality is working on the issue of prostitution. A very interesting closed briefing session was organised by Ruhama last week for members of the Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality, at which members were briefed by former sex workers. It was very harrowing to hear their life stories and this obviously is an extremely serious issue with which Members must come to grips. As for equipping Europol to deal with human trafficking, which is central to its role, anything that empowers it to do this job better is laudable. That concludes my contribution at this point.

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