Council of the European Union Decision: Motions
Seanad Éireann — 2026-09-22
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Conor Murphy (SF), Industrial and Commercial Panel

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. On behalf of Sinn Féin, we will also be supporting the motion concerning this proposition that is in front of us today. The purpose of sharing this information is an important one. As the Minister said, it does assist in the prevention and prosecution of serious crime. We know that serious and organised crime does not stop at national borders and drug trafficking, human trafficking and other forms of organised crime activity operate internationally. Effective international co-operation between law enforcement authorities is therefore essential and the appropriate sharing of passenger information can play an important role in that co-operation.
We have previously supported Ireland participating in PNR agreements between the European Union and a number of other states. We also supported Ireland opting in to the negotiations for this agreement with Korea when that matter came in front of the Oireachtas in November 2025. For that reason, we are supporting the motion. However, our support comes with some important caveats that need to be put on the record. First, sharing of passenger information must always be balanced against fundamental rights and freedoms of individuals and where personal information is being collected, retained and shared internationally, there must be strong safeguards. The holding and use of this data must be necessary, proportionate and subject to strict limitations. Second, we need to be careful about an increasing tendency towards Ireland opting into measures under Article 3 of Protocol 21. Protocol 21 gives Ireland important protections in the areas of freedom, security and justice and allows Ireland to make decisions on participation based on our own national interests. While an Article 3 opt-in may be appropriate in this particular case, that should not automatically become the approach taken to every proposal.
Article 4 remains available to Ireland and, therefore, there may be circumstances where it is more appropriate to wait until the final shape of a proposal is known before deciding whether participation is in Ireland’s interests. Ireland’s national interests must remain central to those decisions.
Finally, there is a practical issue that deserves further consideration. Ireland is an island nation, and a considerable number of people enter and leave the State by ferry as well as air. The PNR data is considered an important tool in preventing and investigating terrorism, drug trafficking, human trafficking and other serious crimes. There is an obvious question as to why similar provisions do not apply to ferry passengers. We should ensure that we are not creating an obvious gap where somebody who seeks to avoid the PNR system can simply choose to travel by ferry rather than by air.
We will be supporting the motion. International co-operation and appropriate information sharing are important tools in tackling serious organised crime, but that co-operation must always be accompanied by strong safeguards for privacy and fundamental rights. Ireland must retain the ability provided under Protocol 21 to make decisions based on our own national interests.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-09-22/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:49+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-22