The Government has given its assent to a controversial agreement between the EU and the United States for the provision of information on European transatlantic airline passengers to the US Department of Homeland Security.
The decision to accept the EU-US deal was taken at yesterday's meeting of the Cabinet, but the agreement also has to be approved by the Dáil and Seanad before July 31st.
The order of business in the Dáil has been changed so that the House can deal with the matter today, just ahead of the summer recess, which begins tomorrow. The Seanad continues to sit until July 22nd.
The EU-US agreement is aimed at preventing further 9/11-style terror attacks, but concerns have been expressed about the implications for the privacy rights of European air passengers travelling to the US.
An existing interim agreement on the transfer of passenger data expires at the end of this month.
Earlier this year the European Commission was mandated to enter into negotiations for a new arrangement with the US authorities and agreement between the two sides was reached on June 26th.
The text of the new agreement will be submitted to the European Council on July 10th for approval and signature by Portugal's European presidency on behalf of the EU member-states.
"The number of data elements to be collected on the passenger name record has been reduced from 34 to 19 through a rationalisation process," a spokeswoman for the Department of Transport and the Marine said.
Adoption of the new agreement before July 31st is necessary in order to provide airlines with a clear legal basis for the continued transfer of passenger records to the US authorities.
"The new agreement will be for a period of seven years," the spokeswoman said.
Cabinet approval was given yesterday to Minister for Transport and the Marine Noel Dempsey to move motions in both Houses of the Oireachtas seeking consent to participate in the agreement.
Under the deal the US will get the right to store air passenger data, such as name, address and credit card details, on a database for a period of up to 15 years for scrutiny in serious crime and terrorism investigations.