Vehicle Registration Data Exchange with the United Kingdom: Motion Dail Éireann — 2026-04-22 ============================================================ Jim O'Callaghan (FF), Dublin Bay South I thank Deputies Carthy, McGuinness and Kelly for their contributions. Deputies Carthy and McGuinness expressed a concern about the use of Protocol 21 and a concern that this was in some way interfering with Ireland's sovereignty or autonomy. When it came to the Lisbon treaty, we agreed, and we got input into it, Protocol 21. That was for the benefit of Ireland. We wanted to leave outside of the agreement of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union issues in the area of justice, legal affairs and police co-operation because we wanted to do our own thing. The reason we included Articles 3 and 4 is that we recognised there would be many occasions when we would want to opt in and be part of the agreements put forward by the European Union. This is a prime example of one where we should exercise the option to opt in under Protocol 21, Article 3. Here we have a situation in respect of an agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom for the purpose of sharing vehicle registration data. It is obvious to me that we would want to be part of that. In fairness to Deputy Carthy, he recognises that as well. This is clearly one where we should opt in. Every time a decision is made whether or not to opt in, it is not done haphazardly; it is done through the exercise of a sovereign decision-making process within the Irish State. We come to the Houses of the Oireachtas, the Government puts forward a proposal to opt in under Protocol 21, Article 3 or Article 4, and the elected representatives of the Irish people have an opportunity to vote on it, and we do so. As there is greater harmonisation throughout the European Union in the areas of law and police co-operation, I think we will see more cases of Ireland wanting to opt in because it is to our advantage. If there are proposals that we do not want to opt into, we will not go near them and I will not propose them. Deputies Kelly and Carthy mentioned the issue about data. Obviously, it is extremely important if we are sharing data of Irish citizens that it is protected. The only reason the data that is provided to the UK under the EU-UK agreement can be used is for the purpose of what is set out in the agreement, and that is for the purpose of investigating serious criminal activity pursuant to the vehicle registration data provisions. I do not want Deputies to believe that this data can be used for ulterior or parallel purposes. It can be used only for the purposes for which the agreement is entered into. Deputy Kelly also asked about the timelines. As I said, the relevant national legislation in Ireland is the Vehicle Registration Data (Automated Searching and Exchange Act) 2018. That has the Minister for Transport, currently Deputy O'Brien, designated as the national contact point. We will amend the provisions of the 2018 legislation by way of statutory instrument to include reference to the trade and co-operation agreement between the UK and the EU. I cannot give the Deputy a specific timeline but it is not a very lengthy amending statutory instrument. The Minister is engaging with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel and the Attorney General's office, which will draft the necessary statutory instrument. Certainly, I would like to see that done very promptly. It is not something that should take a considerable time. I heard what Deputy McGuinness said about road safety in the area of the south east and the sheer volume of traffic. Obviously, the Irish economy is very open. We export and import very significant amounts - more is exported, if the truth be told - and that will result in a lot of traffic coming from the UK and from France. Obviously, Rosslare has got much busier since Brexit because of direct links between France and Ireland but I hear what the Deputy says about the road safety issue. As the country gets busier, there will be more people on our roads and we need to ensure that road safety is prioritised. You yourself, a Cheann Comhairle, will know from the south east of the country that gardaí are out there in terms of roads policing. Gardaí are out there in terms of roads policing. It is a hugely important part of An Garda Síochána's function. We need to ensure that we keep the rules of the road enforced but there is also an obligation on everyone to slow down. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-04-22/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:51+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-04-22