Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

At present, a member of the Garda Síochána, the Revenue Commissioners or others can access this data without going through much of this process. We are reducing the amount of data that will be available in the longer term. It is about how it can be accessed. We have included an additional safeguard by inserting the words "reasonable grounds". It will be necessary to make a case. In the case of a suspicion or view that a person may have committed a crime, the garda or other person investigating will have to provide evidence and show reasonable grounds for the request. It then has to be approved. It is not a matter of saying there is a suspicion that a particular person might have done something, without any proof or evidence. There have to be reasonable grounds for the request. This is an extra layer on top of what we currently have. As I stated, it strips back the type of information that is kept and how it can be accessed. It adds additional layers to what we currently have. In terms of how these data are accessed now, I am not aware of widespread misuse. I do not think this type of data is being accessed by people who should not be accessing it or for unjustified reasons. To the best of our knowledge, it has not been misused to date. The section adds extra safeguards and makes it more difficult for the Revenue Commissioner, An Garda or whoever else to access the information.