Vehicle Registration Data Exchange with the United Kingdom: Motion
Seanad Éireann — 2026-04-23
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Jim O'Callaghan (FF), Dublin Bay South

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach. I thank Senators Gallagher, Scahill and Tully for their contributions. I very much welcome that there is unanimity in the House on agreeing to opt in to this very sensible proposal.
A number of issues were raised. Senator Gallagher asked if this would be an annual opt-in. It will not be. Once we opt in that will be the objective achieved and we will be able to exchange vehicle registration data with the United Kingdom from the date of opt-in onwards. Senator Scahill made the sensible point there is a tight timeline here. When we are opting in under Article 3 we have a three-month timeline so we need to move promptly. There are obviously differences between opting in under Article 3 and opting in under Article 4. That is a debate I have had before in the Houses. In this instance it is very much merited that we do an Article 3 opt-in. As for what Senator Tully said, obviously the data can only be exchanged for the purpose of the underlying agreement and not for other purposes. It is important we have this ability to access this data for the purpose of investigating criminal activity. This is not surveillance. There is no benefit in having vehicle registration data from the point of view of An Garda Síochána other than for the purpose of investigating criminal behaviour. Senator Tully mentioned Protocol 21 and the provisions that we made the decision to opt out on in the Lisbon treaty in the areas of justice, security and policing co-operation. We made that decision but we also decided that where it suited our interests we would be able to opt in to provisions we wanted to be part of and that is what we are doing here. We should not have a blanket approach and say we will not opt in to any or we will opt in to all. We need to measure them individually and if they are of assistance and benefit to the people the Government will put forward the proposal and I am sure Members of the Oireachtas will decide on the basis of what they think is in the best interests of the people. Fortunately, in this instance everyone is agreeable this is an opt-in that should proceed.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-04-23/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:51+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-04-23