Paschal Donohoe (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State and I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill. It is the first time I have addressed the Minister of State since she was appointed to her new post, so I wish her the best of luck.

I wish to focus on the cost and business implications of this Bill. Our country is rightly prioritising the smart economy as an engine that will deliver a sustainable economic recovery for Ireland. It is vital we look at legislation that has an impact on the use of technology and ensure there are no consequences to passing this Bill that would prove an unacceptable burden on our competitiveness. I use that phrase carefully. When one goes out to deliver a social objective, sometimes that objective is so important that the cost is worth bearing by the State. However, my concern is that unforeseen consequences of this legislation could impact on the viability of home-grown or international companies that depend on technology, including the Internet, for their viability. I refer to the contribution by the Internet Service Providers' Association of Ireland in its analysis of the Bill. The association has raised a number of points that I want to put on the record. I hope that on Committee Stage the Minister will be able to respond in detail to some of those points, which appear worthy of further analysis. The thrust of the association's argument is that the Bill has consequences that will adversely affect our ability to be an e-commerce hub. One aspect is the period of time for which Internet data would need to be retained in our own jurisdiction. The legislation proposes a period of one year, but Germany and Slovakia have retention periods of six months. The Netherlands, which is a competitor of ours in the e-commerce area, also has a six-month data retention period. Therefore, we would be asking companies here to have a data retention period which is longer than some of our competitor nations. That additional six months would place an extra cost on such companies. All these little costs add up to affect the competitiveness of a business. I would like the Minister of State to clarify this point in her response to this Second Stage debate or on Committee Stage. I want to know specifically why we will have a data retention period that is longer than that which applies in some of our competitor countries.

The second point concerns the cost burden, which we frequently discuss in this House. It is clear the State's regulatory touch in various parts of the economy has been far too light. As we seek to increase that, it will generate costs. Those costs need to be borne in all cases because it is clear that light regulation has been to the great detriment of the entire country.

One of the consequences of this Bill will be an additional cost for data retention, as well as a cost for servicing that data over the relevant period. As other countries seek to implement equivalent legislation, I have been informed that in those jurisdictions the state bears some of the costs involved. Specifically, France, Germany and the Netherlands cover some of the costs of implementing this sort of legislation. In addition, Britain will reimburse companies for the capital expenditure involved. In the absence of such a commitment here, the cost will fall on Internet service providers. The latter companies will either absorb the cost themselves, which will affect their profitability, or the cost will be passed on those using Internet services, whether they are individual consumers or businesses. What can we do to ensure the cost is minimised and is borne in such a way that it will not affect Ireland's viability as an e-commerce hub?

My third point concerns disclosure requests. On Committee Stage I will be seeking information on how such requests will be dealt with. What will the consequences be for businesses and individuals if these disclosure requests are not dealt with properly, and if issues arise over serving them?

A fourth point concerns the issue of liability. The Bill appears to infer that if a data or service provider provides data to the State, in good faith, on foot of a request which subsequently turns out to be flawed - in that it is not in keeping with the regulations we are discussing here - there would appear to be some uncertainty about the status of the data provider if that data turns out to be flawed.

I would welcome a response from the Minister of State to those four points, as well as an opportunity to discuss them. This Bill is both welcome and necessary, but what can we do to ensure it will not have a detrimental effect on the viability of businesses that provide such Internet services?