Eugene Regan (Fine Gael)

I support the motion and commend it to the House. The Minister has set out in some detail the basis for the EU directive and it falls into the category of co-operation between member states in policing and judicial co-operation in criminal law matters. It has been found for some time in the situation of free movement of people in the European Union that member states on their own cannot counteract terrorism and serious crime. It falls into the category of activities that are best done at European level.

The purpose of the directive is to harmonise the provisions of member states on obligations for air carriers operating flights between a third country and a member state and to transmit the PNR data to the competent authorities for the purposes of preventing, detecting, investigating and prosecuting terrorist offences. It should also be acknowledged that it deals with serious crime. It is not only to do with terrorist offences, although the main focus is on terrorism, particularly those associated with the terrorism attack on airlines.

The Commission's proposal highlights three attempted terrorist attacks to show where this type of information can be of great assistance in detecting and preventing this type of attack. These are terrorist attacks in the United States in 2001, aborted terrorist attacks in August 2006 aimed at blowing up a number of aircraft on their way from the United Kingdom to the United States, and the attempted terrorist attack on board a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit in December 2009.

The commission's proposal set out very clearly, as has the Minister, how this type of data can be used in a reactive sense such as in an investigation, prosecutions and the unravelling of networks after a crime has been committed, and in real time to watch or arrest persons to prevent a crime before it has been committed and prior to the arrival or departure of passengers.

The other is proactive use of data for analysis and creation of assessment criteria which can then be used for assessing passengers prior to arrival and departure. This proposal replaces a previous directive which fell with the passing of the Lisbon treaty and is based on the new provisions of that treaty. It is consistent with the principle of creating an area of freedom, security and justice within the European Union.

There has been widespread consultation on the proposals and it is fair to say the views and reservations expressed by bodies such as the European Parliament, the European Data Protection Supervisor and fundamental rights agencies are not entirely consistent or supportive of the proposal in its present form. The Commission has attempted to accommodate these reservations and this country has an interest in ensuring the directive is adopted in an acceptable form. Perhaps the best example of co-operation in freedom, security and justice was the European arrest warrant which is regarded as a resounding success despite the reservations expressed by member states and a former Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform. Not only are police authorities able to seek arrest warrants in this jurisdiction but Irish authorities have also availed of the process.

The proposed directive is necessary, proportionate and consistent with the principles of subsidiarity. It is important that it adheres to the principles of data protection, the framework decision of 2008 on the protection of personal data processed in the context of police and judicial co-operation in criminal matters and the Charter of Fundamental Rights. It reflects what the Irish Government and other member states are trying to achieve in terms of police and judicial co-operation in combatting the most serious forms of crime, including terrorism.