Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | 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 the Recommendation for a Council Decision authorising the opening of negotiations for an agreement between the European Union and Iceland on the transfer of Passenger Name Record data from the EU to Iceland for the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of terrorist offences and serious crime, a copy of which was laid before Dáil Éireann on 12th January, 2024.

I seek Dáil Éireann approval to opt in to three parallel Commission proposals recommending Council decisions authorising the opening of negotiations for agreement between the EU and certain third countries on the transfer of passenger name record, PNR, data. These proposals recommend Council decisions which have a Title V legal basis in the area of police co-operation. The three-month time period for an Article 3 opt-in to these proposals expires on 17 February. The proposed decisions are to open negotiations with three Schengen-associated countries for agreement on the transfer of PNR data for air travel and law enforcement purposes, in particular to combat terrorist offences and serious crime. The three countries concerned are Norway, Iceland, and Switzerland.

Ireland is already bound by the relevant EU directive on PNR data transfer and processing. The PNR directive was adopted to ensure that all member states implemented EU-wide consistent measures on collecting PNR data from air carriers to prevent, detect, investigate and prosecute terrorist offences and serious crime. While Norway, Iceland and Switzerland are Schengen-associated countries, they are not bound by the PNR directive, and hence the need to negotiate with them as third countries. These proposals will allow for the commencement of those negotiations. This may lead to three bilateral agreements between the EU and the three states concerned, namely, Norway, Iceland and Switzerland, allowing for the transfer of PNR data for the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of terrorist offences and serious crime only.

There are currently three international agreements in force between the EU and third countries that cover the transfer and processing of PNR data - Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom. From an operational perspective, final agreements with Norway, Iceland and Switzerland would enable air carriers to send PNR data relating to flights between the EU and these three countries. The information would be sent to the respective passenger information units in each member state. In the case of the three countries concerned, the processing of such PNR data would be subject to the bilateral agreement with the EU, and in the case of EU member states, the relevant EU directive on PNR data would apply to the processing of data received.

I will explain briefly what PNR data is. It is the booking information provided by passengers and collected by and held in the air carriers’ reservation systems for their own commercial purposes. The content of PNR data varies depending on the information given during the booking and check-in process and may include, for example, passenger names, dates of travel and the travel itinerary of the passenger or group of passengers travelling together. The collection and analysis of PNR data can assist the authorities in identifying criminals, terrorists and their associates and to detect suspicious travel patterns. The processing of PNR data accordingly has become a widely used law enforcement tool in the EU and beyond to combat terrorism and serious crime, such as drug-related offences, human trafficking and child sexual exploitation, and to prevent such crimes from being committed. It is not just about ongoing investigations. It is also to be a deterrent. It has also proven to constitute an important source of information to support the investigation of cases where such illegal activities have been committed.

While crucial for combating terrorism and serious crime, the transfer of PNR data to third countries as well as the processing by their authorities requires a legal basis under EU law and must be necessary, proportionate and subject to strict limitations and effective safeguards, as guaranteed by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. The achievement of these important objectives requires striking a fair balance between the legitimate objective of maintaining public security and the right of everyone to enjoy the protection of their personal data and private life. To provide some further background on the reasons for this opt-in, the three parallel proposals are recommending Council decisions that have a Title V legal basis. Ireland's participation is, therefore, subject to the exercise of an opt-in entitlement in accordance with protocol No. 21 annexed to the Lisbon treaty. The draft Council decisions related to these proposals now include Article 87(2)(a) from Title V of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which relates to the area of police co-operation.

In operational and policy terms, it is considered desirable that Ireland avail of an Article 3 opt-in to these proposals so that post-agreement, Ireland could also participate in the exchange of PNR data with these three Schengen associated countries. Ireland is bound by the relevant EU directive on PNR data transfer and processing. Legal advices obtained confirm there is no legal or practical impediment to Ireland opting into these proposals pursuant to Article 3 of protocol No. 21. Neither is it foreseen that significant cost implications will arise. I commend this proposal to the House in terms of exercising lreland’s opt-in to the measure, and I thank all Deputies for their consideration of this matter.

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