I thank the committee for dealing with this draft EU Council decision on the European Criminal Records Information System, ECRIS. The approval of both Houses of the Oireachtas is required before Ireland can agree to the adoption of the instrument at EU level.
Put simply, this decision is intended to implement Article 11 of the framework decision on the organisation and content of the exchange of information extracted from criminal records between member states. The framework decision is due to be adopted formally and Article 11 provides for the format and the manner of the organising and facilitating exchanges of criminal records information.
Before dealing with the Council decision on ECRIS, it is useful to revisit briefly the framework decision which ECRIS implements. Information on convictions has been exchanged between member states of the EU through systems set up by the 1959 Council of Europe Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters. In November 2005 the Council adopted the decision on the exchange of information extracted from criminal records. It was designed to improve the systems established in the 1959 convention, chiefly by speeding up transmission times.
The proposal for a Council framework decision on criminal records was put forward by the Commission in December 2005. It arises from a desire to improve further the quality of information exchanged on criminal convictions within the European Union. Its purpose is to provide for the transmission of the following: information on a conviction handed down against the national of another member state by a member state to the member state of the person's nationality; transmission by the member state of nationality to other member states, on request, of information on national convictions registered in the national criminal record; information on convictions handed down in other member states against its nationals; on convictions handed down in third countries subsequently transmitted to the member state of nationality and entered in the national criminal record; and to lay down the framework for a computerised conviction information exchange system between member states, to be built and developed on the basis of this framework decision. This part of the framework decision is being given effect by the Council decision on ECRIS.
I wish to turn to the draft Council decision on ECRIS and will go briefly through the articles. Article 1 sets out the purpose of the decision. It establishes ECRIS and sets up the elements of a standardised format for the electronic exchange of information extracted from national criminal records. Article 2 deals with definitions. Article 3 describes ECRIS. It makes it clear that ECRIS is a decentralised IT system, based on national criminal records databases, with interconnection software and a common communications infrastructure. ECRIS will not be a centralised database. All data will be stored in databases operated by the member states. Central authorities will not have direct online access to criminal records databases of other member states. The common communications infrastructure will be the Trans European Services for Telematics between Administrations, S-TESTA, network. Each member state will bear the costs of using and maintaining its national criminal records databases but the Commission will bear the costs of the common communications infrastructure.
Article 4 deals with the format of transmission of information. When transmitting criminal records information, member states will use common codes for offences, for instance, the code for trafficking of human beings for the purposes of labour exploitation is 0401 00. Member states may also provide information, where available, on the degree of completion, that is, whether the act was completed or an attempt, the level of participation, whether the person concerned was the main instigator or aiding in the offence, whether there is an exemption from criminal liability, on grounds of insanity, for instance, and recidivism. There is nothing in the decision to compel member states to change existing practices in relation to the manner in which criminal records data are held. Additional information such as on the nature of the offence and other directly related data will be supplied only where available. We will need to ensure the nationality of persons convicted of offences is recorded in all instances. Member states will also provide information, where available, on the sanctions imposed.
Article 5 provides for member states to provide the general secretariat of the Council with information to assist in drawing up a manual for users of ECRIS. Each member state will provide a list of offences in each of the categories referred to in the table of offences in Annex A and a list of the sentences that can be applied in each of the categories.
Article 6 provides for implementing measures. The Council, acting by qualified majority, after consulting the European Parliament, can amend the annexes of the decision. These set out the categories of offences and sanctions. As mentioned, a manual for users will be prepared and member states and the Commission will co-ordinate action for the development and operation of ECRIS.
Article 7 is deleted. Article 8 provides for the Commission to regularly publish a report on the exchange of criminal records information.
Articles 9 and 10 contain the implementation and entry into force provisions, respectively. Member states will have to adopt the measures necessary to comply with the decision within the time limit specified in Article 11 of the framework decision, that is, three years from the date of entry into force.
Annex A sets out the common table of offences categories. All 27 member states had to sit down and ensure their criminal law provisions could fit into a common table. Annex A is the outcome of those discussions. Annex B sets out the common table of sanctions categories.
Implementation of the Council framework decision on the exchange of criminal records information and the related Council decision on ECRIS will provide Ireland with information on the criminal convictions of Irish nationals convicted in other member states as a matter of course. It will also provide us with a mechanism for receiving comprehensive information extracted from criminal records on request. When the decisions take effect, Ireland will be obliged to transmit as a matter of course to other member states information on convictions handed down against their nationals. In order for Ireland to fulfil this obligation, we will have to record the nationality of persons from other member states convicted here. We will also store information on convictions handed down against Irish nationals in other member states. This will facilitate us in providing information on convictions handed down in other member states to requesting member states.
We have seen great movement of population within the European Union, especially within the last decade. ECRIS will provide the Garda Síochána with a speedy mechanism to check for criminal records information on EU nationals who are the subject of criminal investigation. The electronic exchange of information will replace current arrangements where requests for criminal records information can be made by various means such as by letter, fax, telephone and e-mail. The standardised format provided by ECRIS will be a valuable tool for police services across the Union and assist in the objective of ensuring information gets to where it is required in a speedy fashion.
I thank members of the committee for their co-operation in making time available for the presentation of this measure. The draft Council decision is an important one and its implementation will greatly benefit the citizens of the European Union. The Government wishes to be in a position to signify full agreement to the text when it is submitted to the EU Council of Ministers for formal adoption. In that regard, it would like to be in a position to inform the secretariat of the Council of the European Union as soon as possible that Ireland's parliamentary reservation has been lifted. In the circumstances, I am happy to ask the committee to approve the motions before it.
