Criminal Law, Civil Law and Defence (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026: Report and Final Stages
Seanad Éireann — 2026-07-02
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Jim O'Callaghan (FF), Dublin Bay South

On my second day as chair of the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the European Union, I think the Senator is being slightly unfair to the European Union. Obviously, when it comes to passenger name record data, that information is not available for the purpose of immigration issues. There is a completely separate system, however, that records details and information in respect of any person claiming international protection within the EU, and that is the Eurodac system. It is now much more advanced than it was when introduced in 2003. Anyone who applies for asylum in Ireland will have their fingerprints taken. They will have photographs taken. Biometric analysis is used for the purpose of identifying the persons concerned and there are provisions in the legislation that allow for the search of luggage for the purpose of establishing identity. A huge amount of information is available to the European Union in respect of persons coming to the Union claiming asylum. That is important to record.
Senator McDowell also spoke about data retention. A number of decisions of the CJEU have overturned the legal instruments in place for the purpose of data retention with the European Union. One of my ambitions as Ireland takes over the Presidency is to see if we can get another legal instrument put in place. Data retention, irrespective of your views, is essential for the purpose of investigating serious criminal activity.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-07-02/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:09+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-07-02