There is no dispute that an office of this nature is required. International co-operation, especially in regard to electronic data is obviously something we continually need as we move into the modern age. An awful lot of criminal cases will reach for information that is being stored in the cloud somewhere and an application will have to be made to try to pull that information down. That can often cause, as the Minister is well aware, huge delays in the criminal process and in moving cases forward, so this type of legislation is obviously needed. The way we are connected electronically across the world and across Europe is evidence of that. It is unfortunate this legislation is being rushed in the way it is. It is not allowing for the proper kind of scrutiny we need for something of this scale being established. The time we have to debate it is very limited. It is supposed to come into effect on 18 August with the EU regulation. To suggest the office would be up and running given the huge scale of this is extremely ambitious but perhaps the Minister will enlighten us as to how that is going to happen. That it could be done in such a short time would be pretty amazing. If we were able to do everything else as quickly here, we would be well ahead of things but we are where we are. The EU evidence regulation was adopted three years ago in 2023. Many people are pointing to the delay as being due to some level of incompetence, possibly on the part of the Government. We are now deciding we are going to rush it through the House. It is estimated service providers based in Ireland will receive in excess of 300,000 orders per annum because of the number of these information technology companies based here. Expecting the office, which is to be set up in such a short time, to be able to deal with that volume is something we really need to get answers about. Answers have not been provided in respect of that to date. There are serious questions about the financial and human resources this office is going to need. We are all aware of the difficulties people have in recruiting staff, especially where technological expertise is needed, as it certainly will be in respect of this office. It is even very difficult to get administrative staff, so I just do not understand how the Minister expects that this office is going to get established in that short period. The adequate level of resources needed is something that needs to be addressed. We are aware that there are concerns in relation to the lack of safeguards and incentives for service providers to consider data rights and other rights. We also have laws around privacy and laws to prevent overreach. That has to be taken into consideration. There is a right to appeal in the legislation and that could significantly increase times and put pressure on our Courts Service. Five member states issued statements expressing concerns about the protection of fundamental rights and the application of effective judicial review under the e-evidence package. The concerns related to grounds of refusal in a case of manifest breach of fundamental rights. There are a number of those rights. One is the possibility of double criminality. It is about whether Ireland will inadvertently contribute to human rights abuses. That is something we all have to be conscious of. We see a level of, quite frankly, fascism arising in many states around the world. The impact that may have has to be considered. Would Ireland facilitate the prosecution of individuals who have committed acts that would not constitute a criminal offence here? I notice in the Minister's opening remarks he suggested that would not happen. That is welcome if it is the case. There is the requirement for a publicly accessible register providing information on requests from other member states and questions around how those requests will be processed and their respective outcomes. There is a lack of safeguards and incentives for providers to consider data protection rights and other fundamental rights. In all these situations, the right to privacy and fundamental human rights have to be protected. We are aware of the debates around social media in many jurisdictions. In most cases, it may come down to social media companies' preparedness to co-operate with the criminal justice system, which has been unfortunately absent in most cases to date. I hope the level of penalties put in place will be enough to do that. There is provision for 2% of annual turnover; in other circumstances, it can be up to 10% of annual turnover. Is this something we are falling short on? We need to have sharp teeth when it comes to dealing with these companies. To date, that has not been the case and they have been allowed to get away with far too much in many jurisdictions. I am not just picking on Ireland or the European Union; it has been a global phenomenon. My colleagues, Deputies Carthy and Ward, have tabled a number of amendments that they hope will provide assurances and protection to Irish citizens and to small and medium providers, who also need to be protected. This Bill is coming at the eleventh hour. It is very rushed. It is a big piece of legislation and is establishing something that will have a major impact. It is impossible to support legislation coming in this manner. The Minister's Department would do well to sit down, look at how it prepares and work out systems for the future because this is not the way to proceed on matters of such importance.

Sentiment score: 0.07