John O'Mahony (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to support the Bill which enables the sharing of vehicle registrations and data between EU member states, Iceland and Norway. It will be of assistance in combatting terrorism and serious crime. I note that the opt-in happened back in 2008, as the Minister said. One might wonder why it has taken until now to get to progressing the legislation. It is very welcome, however. Criminals should not use borders to escape the full rigours of the law for the crimes they commit. The Bill will help to enforce that point. There have been serious attacks in crowded cities throughout Europe in the past few years, perpetrated by terrorists who in many cases crossed borders in advance of committing mass murder and crossed them again when they were fleeing afterwards. Hundreds of innocent people have lost their lives in European capitals like Paris, Brussels and London, to name but a few. Anything that helps to prevent such slaughter has to be supported. I very much support the Bill.