Mary O'Rourke (Fianna Fail)

The Order of Business is Nos. 1, 22 and 32, motion 22. No. 1, statements on the UN Committee's report on progress made on the position of children in Ireland, will be taken on the conclusion of the Order of Business until 5.00 p.m., with the contributions of spokespersons not to exceed 15 minutes and those of other Senators not to exceed ten minutes each, and the Minister to be called upon to reply no later than five minutes before the conclusion of the statements. No. 22, which was not on the Order of Business circulated to Senators over the weekend, is a motion concerning an agreement between the EU and the United States on the continued use of passenger name record data. As part of their anti-terrorism and security measures following the events of 11 September 2001, US authorities have for some time required airlines on transatlantic routes to supply personal information on passengers in advance of travel, commonly referred to as passenger name record, PNR, data. The transfer of data has taken place within the framework of a decision by the European Commission under EU data protection legislation and undertakings given to the Commission by the US authorities limiting the use to which the data would be put to protect the rights of EU citizens while, at the same time, assisting the international effort against terrorism. The European Court of Justice struck down the previous agreement on 30 May 2006 as that agreement only required a Commission decision on behalf of the Community. The revised agreement will require the agreement of all member states as well as the EU. No. 22 will be taken on the conclusion of Private Members' business at approximately 7.15 p.m., will conclude not later than 8 p.m. and each group will have eight minutes to discuss the matter. It is also being taken in the Dáil today. No. 32, motion 22, will be taken from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m.