Martin Mansergh (Tipperary South, Fianna Fail)

This motion deals with the Council decision on the use of information technology for customs purposes. The customs information system, CIS, a computerised network database, which is the subject of the proposed European Council decision, is one of the tools used by customs services in the member states of the European Union to co-operate with each other in combating smuggling and customs fraud.

International co-operation between customs administrations is not new. On our accession to the EEC in 1973, Ireland became party to the Naples Convention that was drawn up in 1967. That convention proved invaluable to customs administrations in what is now the EU, in dealing with cases involving smuggling of prohibited substances, including drugs, restricted goods, such as guns and ammunition, and dutiable goods, such as alcohol and tobacco products. Since then, the Irish Customs and Excise has been continually introducing new tools to combat smuggling, including the introduction of a scanner and the customs cutter, continually updating the legal bases for co-operation with colleagues in other member states as the need arose. A second scanner and cutter will also be operational by the end of this year.

The success of this co-operation and sharing of intelligence can be demonstrated by the fact that seizures of cigarettes and roll your-own tobacco have more than doubled by value since 2007. Some 74.5 million cigarettes were seized in 2007, and 135 million in 2008. In addition, customs seized over 1,500 kg of roll-your-own tobacco in 2007 and almost 3,100 kg in 2008. During the period January-October 2009, over 200 million cigarettes have been seized, with a retail value of approximately €80.5 million. This includes the recent seizure on 27 October of some 120 million cigarettes at Greenore Port, which was valued at €50 million.

Alcohol recovered increased from 139 seizures in 2007 to 282 in 2008. This involved the seizure of over 22,800 litres of beer, wine and spirits in 2007, and more than 83,000 litres in 2008. During the period January-October 2009, there were 319 seizures of alcohol, totalling almost 90,000 litres of beer, wine and spirits.

Drug seizures in 2008 included the seizure of more than 1.6 metric tonnes of cocaine and heroin. One of the largest cocaine seizures in the history of the State, with an estimated street value of €105 million, took place in November 2008. Other large seizures during 2008 included two consignments of cannabis, valued at €18 million, in Rosslare; and 10 kg of heroin valued at €2 million. The overall street value for drugs seized in 2008 was over €152 million. During the period January-October 2009, drugs with a street value of €42 million were seized.

Cash seizures in 2008, representing the proceeds of crime, amounted to €3.5 million, seven times more than customs seized in 2007. During the period January-October 2009, the net amount of cash seized amounted to €1 million. Most of the large seizures were made as a result of intelligence. This is the strongest indication of the increased effectiveness of customs' intelligence capability and of good qualify inter-agency co-operation both in Ireland and internationally. However, we cannot be complacent. There are the potential losses to the Exchequer of such activities, the effect on legitimate business, and the impact of drug abuse on our communities.

Those engaged in smuggling activities are becoming more sophisticated in their approach and more ruthless in their determination. One of the initiatives taken at EU level to combat smuggling was the development of the customs information system. On completion of the Single Market in 1993, the European Union decided to build an information system specifically for customs, aimed at ensuring customs officers had immediate access to information on suspicious border crossings throughout the Union. The reasons for setting up this system which are equally valid today were: the abolition of normal customs controls at internal EU frontiers on completion of the Single Market and the effect this could have on the ability of customs services to combat smuggling, including drug trafficking; the clear need to enhance existing arrangements for co-operation between the customs services in the member states and to improve the effectiveness of customs controls, especially at the external frontiers of the Union; the success of, and improvements in, technology had demonstrated the benefits of fully using the potential of such technology for the rapid dissemination of information between customs offices across the Union; and the increased sophistication of the techniques used by those involved in transnational organised crime.

The aim of this EU customs information system is to enable national customs services to exchange and disseminate information on smuggling activities and requests for action. Since information can be accessed quickly and legitimate trade can be facilitated, while customs and police officers can act effectively on the basis of information from other customs services on possible illegal activities. Its purpose is to assist in preventing, investigating and prosecuting serious contraventions of customs law.

The system is a computerised network comprising the central database in Brussels, with terminals in all the member states linked with the database. The CIS consists of two parts to the central database, each of which is similar in structure. They are underpinned by two separate legal bases to cover both the First Pillar, dealing with the three Communities of the European Community, the European Atomic Energy Community or EURATOM and the former European Coal and Steel Community, ECSC, as well as the Third Pillar, dealing with police and judicial co-operation in criminal matters.

The legal bases are a Community regulation dealing with First Pillar customs fraud, namely, Regulation (EC) No. 515/97, which was amended most recently in 2008 by Regulation (EC) No. 766/08, and a convention dating from 1995 which also has a number of subsequent associated protocols covering Third Pillar customs related matters. In each of the databases the main categories of information collected relate to commodities, means of transport, businesses, persons and fraud trends. Direct access to data is reserved exclusively for the national authorities designated by each member state. Revenue has been designated as the national authority for Ireland. Within Revenue, there are 17 terminals located around the country, primarily at ports and airports, with between two and five users at each location authorised both to interrogate the system and input cases.

The Council decision with which Members are dealing is to provide a fresh legal basis for the Third Pillar customs information system to allow the information to be used more fully. Part of the rationale for the decision is also to consolidate, update and replace the existing CIS convention, as well as a number of protocols. These are a protocol dating from March 1999 on the laundering of the proceeds of breaches of customs legislation and the inclusion of the registration number of the means of transport in the list of information which could be exchanged between member states and a protocol dating from May 2003 providing for the creation of a customs files identification database which has an intelligence focus on persons or businesses which have been or are the subject of investigations in member states in connection with serious breaches of customs legislation.

It is important to note, as indicated, that the system has been in operation for some years with the CIS convention and the protocols underpinning it from a legal perspective. Consequently, customs administrations in the member states are already allowed to exchange information using the ClS on breaches of customs legislation. A proposal was made by the French Presidency in 2008 to replace the convention and existing protocols by this new Council decision. The decision was also regarded as being necessary to adapt the existing legal basis better to the control services' requirements and allow information on the system to be used for operational and strategic analysis as the CIS is currently only an alert system. The European Parliament has passed its opinion and the Swedish Presidency plans to have the decision adopted as an "A" point at the Council of Justice and Home Affairs Ministers on 30 November.

The new Council decision, in common with the existing convention and protocols which it will replace, generally limits access to and use of data on the CIS system to certain designated authorities in the member states. It also provides that the European Union's judicial co-operation unit, Eurojust, and the European police office, Europol, will have access to the system to improve the effectiveness of these agencies in fulfilling their roles in tackling transnational organised crime and co-operating with customs services in the member states to that end. In addition, it aims to give the European Commission access to the system to carry out its technical responsibilities regarding the central system which is located on Commission premises. Furthermore, it provides for national supervisory authorities to oversee the operation of the system, that is, in Ireland, the Data Protection Commissioner, whose office will fulfil the same role as it was empowered to do under the existing CIS Convention.

In summary, the decision includes detailed rules on the lawfulness of the processing of personal data; provisions concerning specific forms of processing, collection, storage, transmitting and making available, as well as using personal data; the rights of the data subject; measures to protect confidentiality and security of processing; judicial remedies, liability and sanctions; and the designation of national supervisory authorities to deal with data protection issues. The data protection rules governing these exchanges of information using the CIS are set down in Community law.

There are no major issues of concern for Ireland in so far as adopting the new Council decision is concerned. Throughout the process of negotiating the draft decision, the officials liaised with the Attorney General's office, the Data Protection Commissioner's office and other relevant Departments as the need arose. If the decision is adopted by the Council of Ministers, national legislation will be required to give it effect by 27 May 2011. In the interim, none of the new elements of the decision will apply and the use of the CIS will be subject to the rules contained in the existing CIS convention and its associated protocols. I recommend the motion to the House. While I will not read the outline of the articles of the draft Council decision, to assist Members, they are available at the end of the supplied script.