Conor D McGuinness: Demands Data Safeguards and Road Safety Action
Conor D McGuinness set out his position on a data-sharing instrument on the floor, supporting efforts to target serious criminality while warning that post-Brexit Britain is a third country and data protections must meet or exceed GDPR. He also raised concerns about growing use of Protocol 21 opt-ins and highlighted dangerous road safety issues on the N25 and N24 that require UK-Ireland cooperation.
Data protection and Brexit: Conor D McGuinness says the United Kingdom is now a third country since Brexit and insists the regime underpinning data-sharing must be as strong, if not stronger, than the EU's General Data Protection Regulation. He supports the objective of targeting serious criminality but warns robust safeguards are essential.
Protocol 21 scrutiny: He shares Deputy Carthy's analysis on the increasing number of Protocol 21 opt-ins, arguing that some protections appended to the Lisbon Treaty appear to be being eroded by stealth. McGuinness called for greater transparency, scrutiny and parliamentary debate when opt-ins are proposed in the Oireachtas.
Road safety and cross-border policing: Turning to road safety, McGuinness highlighted the porous border and how partition complicates policing. He identified the N25 and N24 as particularly dangerous routes and said a high volume of vehicles registered in Britain is worsening the situation, calling for cooperation between this department and the Department of Transport and their UK counterparts.
Consequences and next steps: He urged departments to investigate the scale of the problem and to ensure authorities cooperate to pursue those who flout road rules in Ireland, regardless of where their vehicles are registered. McGuinness pressed for deeper parliamentary oversight of future opt-ins and stronger data safeguards across jurisdictions.
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Margaret, Ciann Comhairle, and as Deputy Cartheis, that I administer Sinn Féin is not opposing this. I recognise the importance of the item before us in terms of targeting serious criminality, but we have to be very clear that Britain is, since Brexit, now a third country, and it's very important that there is strong measures when it comes to data protection, that the regime that will underpin the sharing of data here is as strong, if not stronger, than the general data protection regulation that is in force within the European Union. I share the concern and the criticism, or certainly the analysis outlined by Deputy Carthy there, with regard to the real increase in the number of Protocol 21 opt-ins that have become a feature of this government. It seems to be undoing maybe some of the protections, the limited protections that were appended to the Lisbon Treaty several years ago by stealth, without adequate levels of scrutiny, without adequate levels of debate, and whereas it might not be the case in this particular instrument that comes before us, but there is a need for greater scrutiny, I would say, for greater transparency when these opt-ins are being proposed, debated and scrutinised in this House and in the Oireachtas as a whole. There is another issue, and this obviously relates to serious criminality, but there is another issue, and I want to use this opportunity to highlight it, and it is about road safety. As Deputy Carthy said, the nature of partition complicates policing on this island. We have a porous border, and rightly so. The only thing that would improve it is if we were to take it away altogether, and that's another day's work. But road safety concerns and the policing of road safety is a particular issue in the northern part of our country, but also in the south-east where I represent, because of our links with Wales in particular. The N25 is well regarded as the most dangerous stretch of national primary road in the state. It is also a Euroroute and one of the most dangerous Euroroutes in the European Union. The N24, which also connects Rosslare onwards with Limerick and skirts Waterford, is also a very dangerous stretch of road, both of which have not had their share of investment in safety improvements. What is making that situation all the worse is the sheer volume of traffic on both those roads that are vehicles generally registered and regulated in Britain. So there does need to be a good piece of work done by both your own department and the Department of Transport to get to the bottom of that issue and to make sure that there is serious cooperation between authorities in Britain and authorities here when it comes to policing our roads and pursuing those who flout the rules of the road in Ireland, regardless of the jurisdiction that they're registered in.
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