James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move:

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 Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2014/62/EU as regards certain reporting requirements, a copy of which was laid before Dáil Éireann on 10th November, 2023.

I welcome the opportunity to address the Dail on Ireland's opt-in to a decision amending Directive 2014/62/EU as regards certain reporting requirements. Ireland has an option, provided for in Article 3.1 and 4a of Protocol 21 annexed to the Treaty of Lisbon, to opt in to individual proposals in the area of freedom, security and justice. The protocol provides that Ireland has three months from the date a proposal is presented to the Council to notify the Presidency of the Council of its wish to take part in the negotiation, adoption and application of the measure. The three-month period for this proposal ends on 17 January 2024. The exercise of this opt-in is subject to the approval of both Houses of the Oireachtas, so it has been necessary to bring this proposal to the Houses as swiftly as possible before they rise for Christmas in order to meet the deadline.

Ireland can also accept a proposal at any time after it has been adopted, but in such cases Ireland will not have been in a position to vote on the final content of the proposal. It must also be noted that Ireland made a declaration appended to the Treaty of Lisbon of its intention to opt in to measures in the area of freedom, security and justice to the maximum extent possible.

On 17 October last, the European Commission put forward a proposal to amend Directive 2014/62/EU as regards certain reporting requirements. This current proposal is a minor technical amendment to the existing directive, which seeks to remove the obligation to report certain statistical data to the Commission as part of a wider imperative to rationalise reporting requirements.

The primary objective of the underlying original Directive 2014/62/EU is to protect the euro and other currencies against counterfeiting by criminal law. It establishes minimum rules concerning the definition of criminal offences and sanctions in the area of counterfeiting of the euro and other currencies as well as common provisions to strengthen the fight against those offences and to improve investigation of them and to ensure better co-operation against counterfeiting.

The main elements of the existing directive include the criminalisation of the "production" and "distribution" of counterfeit currencies as well as "preparatory offences" like the production of security features, the provisions on penalties, and the principle of territoriality and the extraterritorial jurisdiction. It also includes a provision on the use of certain investigative tools and a provision ensuring that the national analysis centres, NACs, and the coin national analysis centres, CNACs, can analyse euro counterfeits during ongoing judicial proceedings. The effective transposition of these elements into national legislation is essential to achieve the objectives of the directive. No substantive element of this existing directive is affected by the minor technical amendment proposed in this new measure. Rather, the directive requires member states to transmit to the Commission certain statistical data relating to the number of offences concerning counterfeit notes and coins and the number of persons prosecuted and sentenced.

Article 11 of Directive 2014/62/EU obliges that member states, at least every two years, transmit data to the Commission on the number of offences laid down in Articles 3 and 4 and the number of persons prosecuted for and convicted of the offences laid down in Articles 3 and 4. This proposal would abolish the obligation for member states' competent authorities to transmit statistical data to the Commission.

As the size and trends of euro counterfeiting are well documented and known to the competent national authorities, the obligation to report statistical data on criminal proceedings therefore is not essential to ensure that the objectives of the directive are achieved and monitored. The views of the Office of the Attorney General have been sought on this measure. The legal advice states that there are no legal or constitutional obstacles to Ireland electing to opt in, participate and be bound by this measure pursuant to Protocol 21. It states, in fact, that not opting in would actually have greater implications for the State. This measure repeals and deletes a reporting obligation upon the State. If the State does not opt in to this repeal, it would still be obliged to collate and transmit statistics for which the Commission has no use.

This proposal is part of a first package of measures to rationalise reporting requirements and is a step in a process looking comprehensively at existing reporting requirements, with a view to assess their continued relevance and make them more efficient.

Under the regulatory fitness and performance programme, REFIT, the Commission ensures that its legislation is fit for purpose and targeted to the needs of stakeholders and minimises burdens while achieving its objectives. This proposal is therefore part of the REFIT programme, reducing the complexity of reporting burdens arising from the EU legal environment. While certain reporting requirements are essential, they need to be as efficient as possible, avoiding overlaps, removing unnecessary burdens and using, as much as possible, digital and interoperable solutions. The current proposal rationalises reporting requirements, thus making the achievement of the objectives of legislation more efficient and less burdensome for public authorities. The Government has no hesitation in commending this motion to the House.

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