Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will move on. I thank the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach for the time.

The importance of international co-operation in the fight against crime can be overstated. I agree with what the Minister of State said in his opening statement about the exchange of PNR data. It has to be balanced with the protection of privacy and other fundamental rights and freedoms of individuals. We will not be opposing these motions. I agree that the processing of PNR data has become a widely used law enforcement tool in the EU and beyond to combat terrorism and serious crimes, such as drug-related offences and human trafficking. Yet, these proposals are quite simply a matter of police co-operation. Given the ever-deepening links between Ireland and Canada, they are very important. We would criticise the Government where these opt-in motions are moved towards the end of a window for doing so, but a reasonable timeframe has been given here, given that the Article 3 opt-in proposal does not expire until 6 June.

These motions will allow the Government to sign and conclude an agreement between the EU and Canada on the transfer of the passenger name record data. This agreement is for law enforcement purposes and for investigating terrorist offences and serious transnational crime. It is important that the gathering of this information is limited to these areas only and that it is subject to judicial oversight. Revelations that were made quite some time ago now - more than a decade ago - that there exists a perpetual and sweeping retention of data that could be searched and retrieved, awaken a serious concern in the public. That has been going back for decades. Even as data makes more and more things possible, it does not make them more morally acceptable. Accordingly, the restriction of this data to serious crimes and matters of national security is very important.

It is worth reminding ourselves of what exactly constitutes passenger name record data. It is information that is provided by passengers and is collected by and held in the air carriers’ reservation and departure control systems for their own commercial purposes. The content of this data varies depending on the information given during the booking and check-in process. It may include, for example, dates of travel, and the complete travel itinerary of the passenger. While it is collected for commercial purposes, passenger name record data obviously also provides opportunities for the authorities to detect suspicious travel patterns and identify individuals of interest. On the one hand, there was a time when paper or computer records, in the absence of cloud computing, meant that a warrant or request by police would see this information being given. The ability to store and analyse information more readily opens up other possibilities. This is a new development, and it means that such an order-based approach is not as viable as it once was. As with some of the other PNR agreements that we have debated, we are assured by the authorities that the data only relates to a person's interaction with the airline and the data only pertains to their personal lives in relation to specific dates of travel. Obviously, a lot can be gleaned from this data when it is combined with other sources or analysed in a certain way.

The holding of any such data must be necessary, proportionate and subject to strict limitations. We agree that it is desirable that Ireland should share and retrieve this data with countries where there is an obvious need to do so, and more especially, where it would be difficult, if not impossible, to do this on our own. International co-operation is very important, but so is our own sovereignty in relation to the area of human rights. The need to ensure the safety and security of our own citizens is an important one.

When we last debated PNR data - I think was in relation to Norway and Switzerland - we raised the issue of organised crime and transnational co-operation against it. I will not revisit that in some detail again, but the risk of our systems being compromised with fake passports or the use of intermediaries is a concern. No deterrent is fool-proof and criminal gangs are growing ever-more sophisticated in their efforts to evade justice.

In the short time that I have left, I will mention that there has been a development in a slightly tangential issue, namely, the recent decision that has been made to grant planning permission to the An Post sorting depot in Tralee. This raises the opportunity to refurbish the courthouse in Tralee town centre and further redevelop the town centre. I know the Minister of State is very concerned about the town centre first plan, which is in the programme for Government. I hope the Government might reconsider, talk to the Courts Service and refurbish the courthouse that is in the centre of town.

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