Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his presentation. As he said, this proposal is for the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of terrorist offences and serious crime. The 2004 directive is to be repealed and replaced by two different regulations. There is, as was outlined in the briefing document, a close connection between this regulation and the regulation on collection and transfer of API data for facilitating external border controls. As the Minister of State outlined, because Oireachtas approval is required, that has to be done prior to, I think, 6 May.

It is important to note that the regulation aims to lay down better rules for the collection of the data and to ensure that compliance is, as can be seen, carefully limited in scope and contains strict personal data limits and safeguards. It is important also that it must be selective and cannot be systematic unless justified by genuine and present or foreseeable terrorist threat. While there are always civil liberties concerns about these databases, their use is important in combating the work of transnational gangs. The breakup of the so-called super cartel is ongoing and very important. Co-operation of multiple countries to combat this entity, which does not function in a manner that can be understood as a strict hierarchy, has been crucial. I note that Europol said recently that 49 suspects were arrested during Operation Desert Light, with a series of raids which took place across Europe and the UAE between 8 November and 9 November last. Those arrests were a culmination of parallel investigations in a number of countries with co-operation from An Garda Síochána also. Europol said that forces involved in the operation targeted both the command-and-control centre and the logistical drugs trafficking infrastructure in Europe. Thirty tonnes of drugs were seized by officers. If I may quote Europol:

The scale of cocaine importation into Europe under the suspects' control and command was massive and over 30 tonnes ... were seized by law enforcement over the course of the investigations.

The use of encrypted phones was a feature of this case also, demonstrating the technological sophistication of many of these gangs. The usual caveats of ongoing investigations must be repeated, but it is interesting that media reports indicate that the search for a safe haven by some leaders of this super cartel is getting increasingly desperate. Being able to move and conduct their business is absolutely critical to these gangs, and it is interesting that today the Commissioner, speaking at the conference of the Garda Representative Association, GRA, issued a warning. He has our support in the Garda's pursuit of criminal gangs.

It is worthwhile to note the need for this revised proposal, which replaces the previous EU measures. The PNR directive, which was adopted in 2016, allowed police and justice officials to access passenger data on flights to and from the EU in order to combat serious crimes and maintain security within the EU. Then there was a case taken in the Belgian courts by human rights groups challenging the data recorded under the previous Council directive. According to Reuters, the Belgian courts referred the matter to the Court of Justice of the European Union. "The Court considers", it said, "that respect for fundamental rights requires that the powers provided for by the PNR Directive be limited to what is strictly necessary." The court held that the PNR must be limited to terrorist offences and serious crime having an objective link, even if only indirect, with the carriage of passengers in the air. The court said that the extension of the PNR to intra-EU flights should be allowed only if it is strictly necessary and open to review by a court or independent administrative body. Again, to quote from the decision:

In the absence of a genuine and present or foreseeable terrorist threat to a Member State, EU law precludes national legislation providing for the transfer and processing of the ... data of intra-EU flights and transport operations carried out by other means within the European Union.

The court also said that artificial intelligence technology and self-learning systems may not be used in collecting airline passenger data. This is an important aspect of the decision, and we need to proceed with extreme caution when it comes to the application of AI, machine learning and other technological innovations. There are, of course, a number of risks inherent with some of those tools. The first is the risk to our civil liberties and of overreach. One former officer, when commenting on the PRISM revelations by Edward Snowden, was quick to point out that it was far more invasive than what they had managed to maintain. Databases that collect information must be carefully supervised and dispose of data within a set timeframe, and their use must be proportionate to their purpose. The decision of the court recognises this, and it is important that that case law is respected. The second risk is the impact on policing work, whereby the use of these tools can distort how cases are looked into and resolved. There can be such a thing as too much information, and training in investigative techniques needs to keep pace with technology. The third risk which needs to be mitigated is the need for legal certainty. Where poor laws are passed, there is an opportunity for some to challenge those cases when the law is unconstitutional or in breach of fundamental rights.

Finally, I wish to speak to some of the details of the proposal. The fact that the proposal is carefully limited and contains strict personal data protection limits and safeguards is a positive. I trust we will not see overreach as a result. Air carriers are being given clear direction on what to maintain and, as the Minister of State outlined, there is a proposed central router that will act as the single point of reception and onward distribution, replacing the current system comprised of multiple connections between the air carriers and national authorities.

Overall, we support this motion and hope that the important work of co-operation against crime will continue.

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