To begin with, I feel it is necessary to point out that access to retained data for the purpose of the investigation of serious crime and in the interest of the security of the State is already allowed in law. Section 98 of the Postal and Telecommunications Services Act 1983 as amended by the Interception of Postal Packets and Telecommunications Messages (Regulation) Act 1993 allows for the disclosure of information concerning the use made of telecommunications services in a number of circumstances on a request from a member of the Garda Síochána not below the rank of chief superintendent and a member of the Defence Forces not below the rank of colonel. Fundamentally, what is now proposed is that, following on from EU directives concerning the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector, a time limit be set on the period for which certain data on telecommunications usage must be retained for possible access, under specific circumstances and subject to specific safeguards, by the Garda Síochána for the investigation of serious crime and by the Garda Síochána and the Defence Forces in the interest of the security of the State. The time limit being considered is three years, which is shorter than the period which licensed operators historically retained such information for billing purposes.
