Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue on these two important conventions. I will first provide an update on ratification of the cybercrime convention, otherwise known as the Budapest convention, which Ireland signed in 2002. Much work has been done on implementing the provisions of the convention in the meantime. I acknowledge some unforeseen delays along the way, but these were largely reflective of developments at European level. The vast majority of the provisions in the cybercrime convention are provided for in Irish law. The Deputy will be aware that it is necessary to give effect to legal provisions in international instruments in national law before the ratification process can be finalised. The most significant development towards ratification of the Budapest convention was the enactment in 2017 of the first Bill in this jurisdiction specifically dedicated to dealing with cybercrime. The Criminal Justice (Offences Relating to Information Systems) Act 2017 gave effect to an EU directive on attacks against information systems. The key provisions of the directive mirror the key provisions of the cybercrime convention. The new legislation, therefore, also gives effect to provisions of the convention relating to offences against information systems and their data, and search and seizure powers in respect of such data. It was originally intended that this legislation would also cover any other outstanding elements of the convention - mainly relating to production orders for computer data and subscriber information - but that was not possible due to an imminent transposition date for the EU directive.

I am pleased to inform the Deputy that the current Government legislative programme makes provision for the drafting of a new cybercrime Bill to give effect to those remaining provisions of the cybercrime convention not provided for in our national law in order. This is to ensure that we can ratify the Budapest convention. A new area of responsibility for cybercrime has been established within my Department and one of the key priorities of this new area is to progress ratification of the convention. Officials recently attended a meeting of the cybercrime convention committee in Strasbourg and held discussions with the Council of Europe secretariat to progress outstanding issues for Ireland in respect of the Budapest convention.

I turn now to the Lanzarote convention, signed by Ireland in October 2007. Significant progress has been made towards ensuring that Ireland is in a position to ratify this convention. The Criminal Justice (Sexual Offences) Act 2017 has been enacted, Part 2 of which strengthens the law relating to the sexual exploitation of children, including child pornography, and criminalises the use of information and communication technology to facilitate such exploitation. This legislation ensures the State’s compliance with criminal law provisions in the convention. My Department has carried out a detailed review of compliance with regard to other elements of the convention, in consultation with the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and other stakeholders such as An Garda Síochána and the HSE. Information was sought regarding the child protection, prevention and victim support aspects of the convention. While the Department now has most of the information required for ratification, some stakeholder work is still required to ensure that Ireland is fully compliant in all areas of the convention. Once that work has been completed, and the Office of the Attorney General has been consulted, I assure the Deputy that steps towards formal ratification can be taken. I trust that the significant progress made in the lifetime of this Administration, not least through enactment of recent legislation, strongly demonstrates this Government’s commitment to ratification by Ireland of these two important international treaties.

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