Minister O'Callaghan Advances EU Talks on Data Retention, Children's Rights and Online Harms

Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration Jim O'Callaghan TD has hosted the second day of an informal meeting of EU Justice and Home Affairs Ministers, with discussions covering data retention, giving children a voice in family law proceedings, and the harmful impact of violent and extreme pornography.

During the first working session, Ministers held an engaging discussion which provided political direction to the Commission on its forthcoming proposal for an EU legal instrument on data retention, the storage of metadata by service providers to allow access by law enforcement. Data retention rules across the EU are currently fragmented, which can pose operational difficulties for law enforcement, particularly in cross-border cases.

Jim O'Callaghan TD, Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration:

"Ensuring law enforcement authorities have effective and lawful access to data is essential for tackling serious and organised crime, including terrorism. As Presidency, we stand ready to move work on data retention forward with the Council, once the Commission publishes its impact assessment and legislative proposal.

In our discussions today, we spoke about how law enforcement's access to data must be carried out with full respect for fundamental rights. As we move to reach a collective EU position, it will be essential to balance different rights and interests, protecting both the right to privacy and law enforcement's ability to investigate crime."

During the second working session, Ministers discussed giving children a voice in family law proceedings that affect them. Two young people with lived experience of navigating the family justice system in Ireland spoke to the Ministers, supported by Barnardos.

The conversation highlighted the need to improve accessibility of the family law process for children, including better access to age-appropriate information, improved support for children articulating their views in cases such as guardianship, custody or access arrangements, and ensuring children receive feedback and an explanation of how their views were considered.

Jim O'Callaghan TD, Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration:

"Children and young people are citizens of today and not just adults of tomorrow. They have a right to be included and heard when decisions are being made that will affect them.

These decisions can have lifelong ramifications for a child's life and wellbeing. Therefore, the views of the child need to be not only heard as a formality, but properly considered and reflected in legal decision making. Promoting the participation of children in these contexts will be a priority throughout the Irish Presidency."

Ministers also discussed the need for effective measures to address the harmful impact of violent and extreme pornography. A key priority of the Irish EU Presidency is to maintain a spotlight on the scourge of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence (DSGBV).

Violent and extreme pornography is becoming increasingly ubiquitous and is having a very harmful impact on sexual development and behaviour, particularly in distorting understandings of consent and the boundary between sex and sexual violence. Given the predominantly online nature of pornography, this is an issue that crosses borders and intersects with a range of emerging digital harms which predominantly affect women and girls.

Ministers discussed evolving national approaches to the harmful effects of violent and extreme pornography and the need for a concerted, collective and evidence-based response to these threats.

Jim O'Callaghan TD, Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration:

"Disturbingly, a lot of the material that children are seeing, often unsolicited or unwanted, is violent, degrading and misogynistic. The reality is that exposure desensitises children but also influences them, and I see the harmful ramifications across the justice system.

In my role as Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, I have heard from experienced psychologists in the prison service who say a large proportion of those committed for sexual offences report extensive and problematic pornography use. I feel it is our duty to address this problem, which is having an insidious impact on our society.

Violent and extreme pornography is now one of the most influential, accessible, and commercially powerful forces negatively shaping sexual development and behaviour. Such material is having a harmful impact, particularly on young people, and is distorting healthy sexual development.

This abhorrent material is often technically legal and during our conversations today, we had the opportunity to discuss how we, as Justice Ministers, can play our part in shaping a collective EU response to the harm being caused."