David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the House for giving time to this Bill. As I said earlier, this is significant legislation. I thank Deputies for their contributions and general support for the Bill. It is clear that there is a shared determination to combat cybercrime by bringing our laws up to date. The Bill focuses on protecting information systems, and the data they contain, from unauthorised access or interference. This is vital to the interests of businesses, Government structures and individual citizens alike, given the central role information systems play in all of our lives now. As technology advances and new forms of crime evolve, our legislative frameworks must also develop to counter these threats. Deputy O'Brien is right to say we must bring our laws up to date.

There was a time when crime was usually committed in a physical space, a place where the criminal was also present such as in the traditional forms of fraud or theft. Technology-related offences are committed in cyberspace, where the perpetrator may be at a very distant physical remove from their crime target, operating stealthily and insidiously. While cyber criminals could be considered to operate in a somewhat virtual digital world, remotely and virtually invisibly, the effects of their attacks are very real indeed. In fact, it has been estimated that the cost of cybercrime to the Irish economy is some €630 million a year. Grant Thornton, the consultants who carried out this analysis, discovered that the cost of traditional crimes such as welfare and tax fraud, moving into the online environment, is a significant threat to the economy.

The legislation we are introducing seeks to protect information systems, and their important data, from cyber attacks from both within and outside the State. The Bill makes it an offence to engage in cybercrime activity and provides strong penalties for those found guilty of offences relating to information systems, including up to ten years’ imprisonment if the crime is sufficiently serious.

Cybercrime activities come in many forms. Broadly, they involve criminal attacks on information systems and infrastructures themselves, or on their associated data. Data are an increasingly valuable commodity in the economic world. Information - personal information in particular - carries a premium. Criminal gangs are aware of this and perpetrate large-scale, pervasive attacks involving unauthorised access, collection and use of data for monetary gain.

Some of the more common forms of cybercrime involve identity theft, online Internet scams or fraud, cyber theft from business, cyber extortion, industrial espionage and online intellectual property theft. It is these crimes that are causing the greatest impact economically, both in Ireland and across the globe.

Cybercrime is an international, worldwide problem. It knows or respects no borders. There is a need, therefore, for international co-operation to counter this menace. Harmonisation of national laws is one important way of doing this. By strengthening our laws across Europe and beyond, we present a united front against cybercrime and counter its transnational dimension. The legislation before us will serve to transpose the EU directive on attacks against information systems and ensure that Ireland can stand alongside our European partners in combating criminality in this area and protecting vital infrastructures.

International co-operation is also necessary on a practical, operational level through the sharing of information between police authorities in order to bring cyber criminals to justice and enforce our laws. A key aim of the EU directive, in addition to criminalising offences relating to information systems, is to improve co-operation with and between competent authorities, including the police and other law enforcement services such as Europol and its European Cyber Crime Centre.

For the purpose of exchanging information on cyber offences, member states are required to have an operational national point of contact which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The designated national contact point for Ireland is the Garda Computer Crime Investigation Unit, whose contact details have already been provided to the European Commission and can be made available to other member states and competent specialised agencies and bodies.

The Bill ensures there are no gaps in our laws that can be exploited by those who would seek to perpetrate cyber crimes through unauthorised access to, or interference with, information systems or the important data retained on them. This is clearly important for businesses, the Government sector and individual citizens alike.

Deputy O'Callaghan's initial comment about the time of night reminds me of a Deputy years ago who came in here looking for overtime sheets. I thank Opposition Deputies for their co-operation on this measure and look forward to Committee Stage. I am pleased to commend the Bill to the House.

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