Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I understand Senators wanted to discuss EU Regulation No. 603/2013, which relates to Eurodac. This regulation was the subject of a very full debate by the Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality at its meeting yesterday and it received all-party support. The joint committee also discussed some of the issues to which it gives rise.

Under Article 29.4.7° of the Constitution of Ireland the exercise of the possibility to opt-in to a Title V measure is subject to the prior approval of both Houses of the Oireachtas. On 6 May 2014, the Government authorised the exercise of the opt-in to the recast Eurodac regulation subject to the prior approval of both Houses of the Oireachtas. This is the business with which the joint committee dealt yesterday and with which we are dealing now. Eurodac is an EU information technology system for the comparison of the fingerprints of asylum seekers across EU member states.

The Eurodac regulation was originally adopted in 2000 and recast in 2013. Eurodac facilitates the operation of the Dublin Convention and Regulation (EU) No. 604/2013, which establishes the criteria and mechanisms for determining which member state is responsible for examining an application for international protection. Senators will be very familiar with this system. The Dublin system is based on the general principle that responsibility should lie primarily with the member state which played the greatest part in an applicant's entry into residence in the EU. This is necessary due to the movements we see among people who are in this situation. Ireland is participating in the recast Dublin regulation of 2013. In fact, it was agreed during the Irish Presidency. It is proposed now to opt into the recast Eurodac regulation of 2013 before its implementation date of July 2015 to ensure that the preparations in Ireland and the EU for the coming into operation of the recast regulation go smoothly.

The Eurodac system consists of a central system and a communications infrastructure with member states. The principal additional elements of the recasting of the Eurodac regulation in 2013 consist of improvements and increased efficiency in the use of Eurodac in relation to prompt transmission - timelines are spelt out - by member states of fingerprints to the central system and marking of data on persons granted international protection; full compatibility with the latest EU asylum legislation and better addressing of data protection requirements; and the facility for member states' law enforcement authorities and Europol to access the Eurodac central database for law enforcement purposes.

Having made the initial proposal to recast the Eurodac regulation in December 2008, the European Commission amended it three times. The Office of the Attorney General has advised that the original opt-in to the December 2008 proposal does not cover the Eurodac regulation as actually adopted in June 2013. Consequently, it is necessary to begin afresh the national procedures for opting into the recast Eurodac regulation. The recast regulation will apply from 20 July 2015, up to which date the original Eurodac regulation of 2000 continues to apply. Accordingly, Ireland continues to participate in the Eurodac system. I recommend that the House support the regulation and that it be passed by the Oireachtas. It allows preparations to go ahead at national and EU level to ensure that we continue to be part of an essential central system of information exchange that allows requests for asylum to be addressed in the best possible way by the appropriate country.