Dan Boyle (Green Party)

It is easy to be jingoistic in terms of a belief in our own policing and judicial system, saying it is better than other judicial systems of policing in that it cannot be improved upon. As an island nation perhaps we are more guilty in this area than others. We are discussing changes in judicial co-operation on civil and commercial matters in the European Union in terms of information and acting on that information. It would be useful, in a wider debate, to discuss where we can and do intermingle with other EU countries, despite the difficulties that exist such as Ireland being a common law jurisdiction and others being statute-based, legal systems which are inquisitorial rather than adversarial. In terms of where Ireland stands, there are ongoing concerns that the more we intermingle and a bigger caucus of European law is formed in this area, the more we lose and the greater the potential threats to civil liberties. I am less convinced of that than I have been in the past.

I was in a German city, Frankfurt (Oder), which is on the border with Poland and a town called Slubice. While Poland has only recently become a member of the EU, both countries are part of the Schengen Agreement, which we are not. The border post that existed on that bridge between the two towns has been dismantled. What I found curious was that police cars were going in both directions from the jurisdictions of different police forces and it seemed utterly normal.

As an island nation we do not have a sense of that and, as yet, we do not have the degree of compatibility that exists with other EU members, especially in the central European landmass. The wider debate we need to have must be informed by matters such as that, especially in the context of the aftermath of the referendum on the Lisbon treaty. Without that sense of informed debate, we will repeatedly fall victim to the type of prejudice and misinformation that has characterised the recent debate in this country.

I agree with the previous speaker that we should seek greater debate and more information on this area. What is being put forward today is interesting in that it is about the shared use of information. If we had greater detail to examine we would ask about the safeguards, the subsequent use of the information and the limited form in which it should be used. What is being proposed, especially in respect of the financial matters and payment orders, is less of an opt-out for people who wish to leave a jurisdiction without living up to their financial and commercial responsibilities. People have been guilty of this in the past in this country.

It is also a useful addition to the Hague process in terms of many legal orders that have emanated from the European Union in recent years and which we are adopting slowly by resolutions in both Houses. On those grounds, I welcome what is proposed and I accept there is a need for wider and more informed debate in these areas. I look forward to our total system of policing and our judicial process being better practised as a result of measures such as this.