Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Davitt for raising a very valid question on an important issue. From a telecommunications perspective, Ireland favours easy access by our citizens to mobile communications on the basis that such access is of benefit to society. There is currently no Irish legal requirement to register the personal details of owners of SIM cards. Where mobile service providers are extending a line of credit in the form of telecommunications services to bill paying customers, assurances are sought that the bills issued will be received and paid and that any relevant debt will be recoverable. In that regard, personal data such as proof of identification and residence are collected and processed for legitimate business purposes and solely in connection with the delivery of the mobile service. For SIM cards and prepaid phones with no line of credit being extended, no requirement for collecting personal details arises. Although there is currently no mandatory registration system for SIM cards in Ireland, there is a voluntary registration system in place for prepaid phones which has a high take-up because of incentives offered by operators. Customers have tended to register their details on foot of being offered commercial incentives for doing so, such as top-up credit. My Department would only legislate in this area if there was comprehensive evidence emerging to indicate a widespread or serious problem which a policy change would rectify. The proposal to register all customers for mobile phone services was considered previously by my Department and identified complex legal, technical, data protection and practical issues. Such issues include the ease with which a foreign or stolen SIM card could be used, the difficulties that would be posed by verifying identity in the absence of a national identification card system and data protection issues arising from the development of a register. It was concluded that the proposal would be of limited benefit because it would not solve the illegal or inappropriate use of mobile phones by persons determined to abuse the technology. Furthermore it was found that data protection issues associated with the concept and the routine collection and retention of individuals' personal data information would be contrary to the Data Protection Acts 2008 and 2013. There are no proposals to compel mobile telephone service providers to register all customers.

As the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, I continue to support the mobile industry in its work on a safe and responsible use of mobile phones. I am aware that representative groups within the telecommunications sector are alert to the need to adopt high standards for mobile operators on parental controls for the access by minors to mobile services. In that regard, three operators - Three Ireland, Vodafone and Meteor - have, since 2014, developed a code of practice for application in the Irish market. The code establishes the standard which mobile operators will adhere to on issues of parental controls for minors' access to mobile services, malicious or offensive communications, spam, internet access, premium rate service and access controls for content services. While I have overall responsibility for electronic communications policy, the Senator will appreciate that policy responsibility in respect of combatting crimes that might take advantage of or abuse electronic communications rests with the Minister for Justice and Equality. Policy responsibility in respect of child protection rests with the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. The Seanad will also appreciate that prevention, detention and investigation of criminal conduct is a matter for An Garda Síochána.

There are also civil liberty issues at play here. ComReg, as the telecommunications regulator, seeks proof of identification from its bill paying customers purely for the purposes of billing. That is an entirely separate matter from any policy developments that might be considered in criminal justice or child protection spheres. If the State wanted the register to identify all owners or users of mobile phones, it would be a matter for the relevant Minister.