merrion street

Minister Shatter speaking from Luxembourg where he is attending a Justice & Home Affairs Council meeting confirmed Ireland’s solidarity with Malta by taking in a further ten refugees. Malta is again experiencing a severe influx of people arriving by boat from Libya who are seeking international protection. “This action is a gesture of support at a time of exceptional migratory pressure on our Maltese colleagues.”

European Ministers also held a very useful discussion on data protection proposals – “Increasing an individual’s control over their personal data is essential for improving consumer confidence and trust in the digital economy. This will lead to more innovation, more economic activity and crucially more jobs. Improving data protection standards across the EU will be a vital step in increasing cross border business activity in the internal market”. The Minister is looking forward to continuing discussions on these proposals in the coming months.

At meetings in Brussels and Luxembourg Minister Shatter highlighted the success of Ireland’s Criminal Assets Bureau in freezing and confiscating assets realised from the proceeds of crime. He stressed the importance of the European Union putting in place a robust framework to target the proceeds of crime. He welcomed the Commission’s current proposal in this area and again called for further EU action which would provide for a non – conviction based regime similar to that operated by the Criminal Assets Bureau in Ireland. The Minister told colleagues that, “every effort must be made to ensure that crime does not pay – we are all faced with an escalation in the number and sophistication of criminal gangs and all Member States must work together to develop further the necessary legal remedies and tools to strike back where it hurts – their pockets.”

In preparation for Ireland’s EU Presidency in 2013 Minister Shatter met with Commissioner Malmstrom who has responsibility for Home Affairs matters to discuss possible areas of action during the Presidency.

The Minister was in Brussels on Wednesday for a series of meetings with key contacts in the European Parliament. “Good relations with the European Parliament are essential given its key role in legislation under the Lisbon Treaty and I look forward to working closely with MEP’s in the area of Justice and Home Affairs.