Eugene Regan (Fine Gael)

I dissent from the position adopted on this side of the House. In the interests of law enforcement there must be a reasonable period for the retention of this type of data and the period specified in the Bill is reasonable. It is not just an issue of combating organised crime, which is the most serious type, but also cyber-crime. The EU emissions trading system could be brought down by criminal activity, hacking, etc.

By and large, the argument is correct that what is involved is a once-off cost for the data service providers. Whether the period is six months, one year or two years, it is de minimis in regard to what the extra period of retention would involve in terms of cost. The period specified in the Bill is appropriate, balanced and reasonable.