Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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440. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the implications for the privacy rights of Irish citizens of the gathering of digital information by the US National Security Agency; if he has taken any action to ensure Irish citizens’ privacy rights are protected; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35400/13]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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As I have indicated to the House previously, I, of course, fully understand the concerns which have arisen in the wake of recent media reports about the US PRISM programme. I am aware too of reports which have appeared about the alleged activities of other security agencies.

I raised the concerns which had been expressed about the PRISM programme with the US Attorney General Eric Holder during my meetings with him earlier in the summer in Dublin. At these meetings, the US Attorney General provided clarity on a number of issues, in particular with regard to the nature of the information collected and processed, i.e. phone numbers, duration of calls etc - but not the content of calls. He also advised that the data was collected under judicial authority and only where there was a reasonable suspicion of serious crime.

We cannot ignore the very important fact that there is a recognised need to protect our citizens from terrorist threats and dealing with that does require access to certain data. I will continue to make the point at international level that in doing so it is necessary to ensure that the information used is properly obtained and subject to appropriate safeguards. I have previously emphasised the importance of protecting privacy rights and ensuring respect for individual human rights contained in the European Convention on Human Rights. I also recognise the crucial need to ensure that any security surveillance undertaken is balanced and appropriate.

It was agreed that data protection and security experts from the US and from the EU would meet to clarify remaining matters as necessary. The Presidency in office and the responsible European Commissioner are leading on this from the European side with regard to the data protection and privacy matters within EU competence. Some meetings have already taken place, the most recent being held last week.

The Deputy will be aware that in this country we have data protection legislation to protect individuals against unwarranted invasion into their privacy and a clear legal framework for the accessing of information. More generally, I can tell the Deputy that substantial progress was made during the Irish Presidency advancing key aspects of the EU's data protection reform package. A further indicator of our commitment in this area is the significant increases which have taken place in the resources made available to the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner, notwithstanding the current difficult economic circumstances.