Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move the following motions:

That Dáil Éireann approves the exercise by the State of the option or discretion under Protocol No. 21 on the position of the United Kingdom and Ireland in respect of the area of freedom, security and justice annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, to take part in the adoption and application of the following proposed measure:

Proposal for a Council Decision on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union vis-à-vis the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland regarding the determination under Article 540(2) of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, of the one part, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of the other part, of the date from which personal data as referred to in Articles 530, 531, 534 and 536 of that Agreement may be supplied by Member States to the United Kingdom,

a copy of which was laid before Dáil Éireann on 13th April, 2022.

That Dáil Éireann approves the exercise by the State of the option or discretion under Protocol No. 21 on the position of the United Kingdom and Ireland in respect of the area of freedom, security and justice annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, to accept the following measure: Council Decision (EU) 2021/430 of 5 March, 2021 on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union on the Kyoto Declaration on Advancing Crime Prevention, Criminal Justice and the Rule of Law: towards the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at the 14th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice to be held from 7 to 12 March, 2021 in Kyoto, Japan, a copy of which was laid before Dáil Éireann on 24th February, 2022.

That Dáil Éireann approves the exercise by the State of the option or discretion under Protocol No. 21 on the position of the United Kingdom and Ireland in respect of the area of freedom, security and justice annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, to accept the following measure: Regulation (EU) 2021/2260 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 2021 amending Regulation (EU) 2015/848 on insolvency proceedings to replace its Annexes A and B, a copy of which was laid before Dáil Éireann on 29th April, 2022.

I am speaking on a number of motions exercising Ireland's option to opt in to certain EU measures under Protocol No. 21 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, TFEU. If Ireland wishes to take part in an EU measure with a legal basis that falls under Title Five of the TFEU, Oireachtas approval under Article 29.4.7° of the Constitution is required. The three measures before the House all have a legal basis which falls under Title Five of the treaty and therefore it is necessary to secure Oireachtas approval. I thank Deputies for enabling me to bring forward the three opt-in motions consecutively. I appreciate this is not normally the way it is done, but they are technical and the Business Committee has acceded in this instance.

With regard to the Prüm Convention, the motion refers to a draft proposal by the Council of the European Union to determine the date from which personal data relating to DNA profiles and fingerprints, also known as Prüm data, may be supplied by member states to the United Kingdom. This is an essential tool for law enforcement across the EU and, of course, is of particular value to law enforcement co-operation between Ireland and the UK. The EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, TCA, stipulates that member states may continue to supply Prüm data to the United Kingdom, pending the outcome of evaluations required by the TCA, until 30 September 2021. This interim period was extended until 30 June 2022. It is worth noting that a measure providing for this extension was before the Houses in September 2021.

Since then, the European Commission has completed an evaluation of the UK and concluded in its reports that the co-operation with the United Kingdom on DNA profiles and dactyloscopic data meets the relevant requirements. These reports were submitted to the Council in March 2022 and paved the way for the Council to allow the Union to declare that member states may supply personal data regarding DNA profiles and dactyloscopic data to the United Kingdom as referred to in Article 540(2) of the TCA. Without this Council decision, Prüm data will cease to be shared between the EU and the UK from midnight on 30 June 2022. As Deputies will understand, if this were to happen, it is something that could potentially have serious repercussions in the investigation and prosecution of criminal cases.

The views of the Office of the Attorney General were sought and the legal advice received has confirmed that Oireachtas approval under Article 29.4.7° of the Constitution is required. I emphasise that the effective implementation of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement is an EU priority and we in Ireland will play our full part in that. Ireland's role in the EU has changed in recent times and will continue to evolve in the coming years. Full implementation of the TCA is necessary for us not only to play our part as an EU member state but also to ensure our post-Brexit relationship with the UK continues to grow and develop. Part of this relationship is ensuring the safety and security of our citizens are protected, and this measure is necessary to do that.

The second motion relates to Council Decision (EU) 2021/430 on the Kyoto Declaration on Advancing Crime Prevention, Criminal Justice and the Rule of Law: Towards the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice is held every five years and a declaration is adopted at each congress. The Kyoto Declaration was adopted at the 14th congress on 7 March 2021. For the first time, the Council of the European Union took the approach of publishing a Council decision approving the adoption of the final draft declaration, which has necessitated this Protocol No. 21 process. Usually under Protocol No. 21, Ireland has three months from the date a proposal or initiative is presented to consider the proposal before notifying the Presidency of the Council if it wishes to opt in under Article 3. In this instance, and at the request of the general secretariat of the Council to facilitate the speedy adoption of the proposal, Ireland waived its right to have three months for consideration before the decision was adopted. I am now proposing to opt in post adoption under Article 4 of Protocol No. 21.

The Kyoto Declaration consists of non-binding, high-level statements aimed at strengthening collective efforts under the thematic pillars of crime prevention, criminal justice, the rule of law and international co-operation. Each pillar covers a wide range of topics, such as "enhancing evidence-based crime prevention strategies", "improving detention conditions" and "the impact of Covid and the creation of opportunities for criminals and organised criminal groups". Implementation of the commitments will be progressed via a multi-year work plan during the annual meetings of the UN Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice. As a member state of the EU and a UN member state, Ireland stands by the collective commitments contained in the declaration and has a long tradition of co-operation with European and international colleagues to reduce the impact of crime in our communities and to protect the rule of law. The importance of close collaboration with international counterparts was evident in the recent successful global action undertaken by law enforcement agencies to introduce sanctions to undermine the Kinahan organised crime group.

At EU level, there are a number of strategies and legislative reforms to enhance co-operation and create a harmonised approach across member states that will deliver on the commitments made in the declaration, all of which Ireland fully supports. These include the EU Strategy to Tackle Organised Crime 2021-2025 and the EU Drugs Strategy 2021-2025. The principles in the Kyoto Declaration are also reflected by the five overarching goals in my Department's Justice Plan 2022. While my Department leads on criminal policy matters, many national strategies and policy initiatives to tackle and prevent crime require a whole-of-government response. This co-ordinated national response will contribute to Ireland's role in the implementation of the Kyoto Declaration and furthering the advancement of the 2030 agenda for sustainable development.

The third motion relates to an EU civil justice regulation which was adopted in December 2021. It is an amending regulation that makes technical updates to two annexes in the 2015 recast insolvency regulation. Ireland already opted into the recast insolvency regulation, but under the protocol, a fresh opt-in is required in respect of any measure amending it. The recast insolvency regulation applies to company insolvency, personal insolvency and bankruptcy, and provides for mutual recognition and enforcement of insolvency proceedings between EU member states in cases with a cross-border dimension. The recast regulation sets out agreed common rules on which member states' courts will have jurisdiction to deal with a cross-border insolvency case and which national insolvency law will apply, and it deals with recognition of court orders. The changes made by the amending regulation are to replace Annexes A and B to the 2015 regulation with updated versions. These annexes list, respectively, the types of insolvency procedures and insolvency practitioners in each member state that are to be recognised under the 2015 regulation.

These updated annexes are required due to changes in national legislation in eight EU member states. In addition, the relevant UK listings have been removed post Brexit. The lists of recognised Irish insolvency proceedings in Annex A and of Irish insolvency practitioners in Annex B are unaffected by these changes. For reasons of timing, it did not prove possible for Ireland to opt in to the amending regulation under Article 3 of the protocol within three months of its presentation. The intention was, therefore, to propose an opt-in under Article 4, following the adoption of the measure and subject to the necessary approval. It is recommended that Ireland should now opt in to this regulation so that we are applying the same updated lists of insolvency proceedings and practitioners as other EU member states. It is important that Ireland is seen to confirm the recognition of updates to the relevant laws in other member states. The recast insolvency regulation is also an important and well-established part of civil justice co-operation between EU member states, which ensures a more coherent and predictable approach in cross-border insolvency cases. Accordingly, I believe it is desirable that Ireland should exercise its right to opt in to this amending regulation, post adoption, in accordance with Article 4 of the protocol.

I trust that the House can support the exercise of Ireland's opt-in in respect of all three of these measures. I again thank Deputies. It is not normal practice to do three opt-ins together, but given the technicalities and the fact they are merely technical changes, it is appropriate to do so.

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