Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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28. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality his plans to direct all State agencies under his remit, in addition to issuing guidelines to all other State agencies not under his specific remit, to discontinue accessing the data of Irish citizens pending the final resolution of issues pertaining to the Communications (Retention of Data) Act 2011 and-or amending legislation conforming with EU law and obligations under the ECHR; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44275/17]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy will wish to know that under the current law on access to certain communications data that is retained by communications service providers access to this data is available only to An Garda Síochána, the Revenue Commissioners, the Permanent Defence Forces, the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission and the Competition and Consumer Protection Authority.

The law provides that access to such data by these agencies is only permitted for the purposes of the investigation of serious crime and safeguarding the State's security, corresponding of course to the statutory responsibilities of the agencies in question. Any such access is also subject to the strict conditions that are set out in the legislation.

The operation of the Act's provisions are subject to the independent oversight of a serving Judge of the High Court and individual complaints may be made to the Complaints Referee who is a serving Judge of the Circuit Court.

The House will be aware that on 3 October the Government approved the drafting of legislation, as set out in the general scheme of a Communications (Retention of Data) Bill 2017, to revise the law in this regard in order to take into account the impact of judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union in this area of law, notably the judgment of the Court in the Tele 2 Sverige/Watsoncases which represents a significant evolution in European case law in this area.

The development of the general scheme of the Bill has involved consultation with the relevant stakeholders who are authorised to seek access to communications data.

I have written to the Oireachtas Committee on Justice and Equality to ask it to undertake pre-legislative scrutiny of the general scheme of the Communications (Retention of Data) Bill in accordance with current the arrangements in place in this regard. I look forward to the outcome of the Committee's consideration of these proposals.