I commend the Minister and his Department on bringing forward the Bill. The Government committed to implementing the e-evidence package and to establishing the new office of the director of criminal justice international co-operation, CJICO, in the programme for Government. It is welcome to see that commitment now being progressed. The Bill is practical and necessary and will strengthen Ireland's ability to access digital evidence to support criminal investigations. It will also help to ensure those involved in serious and organised crime can be brought before the courts and ultimately brought to justice. We all know criminal gangs do not respect borders and that their activities are not confined to one village, one county or even one country. Criminal networks are international, and their communications are often online. Their financing, planning and contacts can move across borders in seconds. We have to be able to respond to that. We cannot underplay the importance of international co-operation. We have seen in recent weeks how working closely with other jurisdictions and law enforcement agencies can lead to major breakthroughs in tackling transnational organised crime and can bring significant players in the criminal underworld to justice. When gardaí can co-operate effectively with their counterparts in other countries, it becomes much harder for these criminals to hide behind borders. In today's day and age, everything is done through digital means and crime is no different. A person in this State can easily communicate with a group on the other side of the world to organise a drug shipment, move money and co-ordinate other criminal activity. This can happen quickly and discreetly, and the evidence of that activity may be held by a service provider in another EU country. In these circumstances, any delay can seriously damage an investigation. Investigations into organised crime are increasingly dependent on digital evidence and there are countless cases where convictions have been secured based on digital material. We have to support An Garda Síochána insofar is possible to make it faster and easier for it to access electronic evidence. Speed matters in any investigation and it is particularly important in organised crime cases, where those engaged in this activity will often try to cover their tracks, encrypt their communications or delete incriminating material entirely. The European production and preservation orders provided for in the e-evidence package and this legislation will be an important tool in ensuring relevant evidence can be obtained or preserved quickly. The creation of the new office of the director of criminal justice international co-operation is very welcome and the Bill gives that office real teeth by giving it the power to monitor and enforce compliance by service providers. Criminals are quick to adapt and will seek to carry out their activities wherever they can. The State must be a step ahead of them and must be able to respond urgently. We need to look ahead of the curve to see what technology is coming down the tracks so that we can keep up with it. In particular, AI as a tool can be very positive while also nefarious at the same time. This Bill will help close gaps criminals have been able to exploit. It will improve co-operation with our European partners, support the gathering of new evidence and, most important, assist in holding those involved in serious and organised crime to account.

Sentiment score: 0.01