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

These amendments relate to the amendments to the Communications (Retention of Data) Act 2011. Section 6E of the 2011 Act permits An Garda Síochána to access cell site location data providing the geographic location of a mobile phone generally within the last 48-hour period in what are emerging cases. Access to this data may be granted where urgently needed to protect a person from a serious risk to life or personal safety or to determine the whereabouts of a missing person.

A Garda request for permission to get this data from telecommunications companies must be authorised by a superior officer who is not below the rank of superintendent. He or she must apply proportionality and necessity tests before making a decision. Given that these are urgent cases, the superior officer is not required to seek court approval for this in advance. Instead, the superior officer must personally apply to the District Court for affirmation of any decision to authorise access to this data within 72 hours.

The requirement to seek court affirmation of such requests after the event was introduced in 2022 on foot of Court of Justice of the EU rulings. Over the first six months of operation of these changes, from June to December last year, there were 76 Garda applications affirmed by the District Court under section 6E and the rate of applications is expected to increase over time. However, this needs to be seen in the context of the current population of the State of over 5 million people. It is also worth noting that according to the www.missingpersons.iewebsite, approximately 9,000 people each year go missing. Overall, the number of requests made under this section is low.

The amendments made are practical in nature. These types of applications have to be dealt with at any time on a 24-hour, seven-day basis by a Garda member not below superintendent rank. While a roster of superintendents has been put in place, this is disruptive to the normal work of these officers. There are very few statutory provisions which require a superintendent to almost immediately attend court at the frequency required by these cases. For this reason, I have lowered the minimum rank of superior officer who may authorise applications to that of inspector, a rank which is subject to more flexible rostering and on-call duties. On foot of advice from the Attorney General, I have also made further changes, which make this section more legally robust and to further ensure that privacy rights are also taken into account.

I am satisfied that these amendments ensure that section 6E will continue to operate as intended and that An Garda Síochána is well placed to offer immediate assistance and support in dealing with emergency situations.

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