EU: Ireland will be allowed to retain a law forcing telecoms firms to store data on people's telephone calls for three years under a controversial deal struck in Brussels yesterday.
However, Minister for Justice Michael McDowell said he plans to challenge a proposed new EU directive on data retention on a point of legal principle.
Mr McDowell said he objected to the legal basis on which the directive was agreed and Ireland would challenge the directive at the European Court of Justice.
"This is not a decision that should be decided by qualified majority voting. It is for the Oireachtas to take decisions on these matters," said Mr McDowell, who stressed that Ireland's three-year data retention rule would not be affected by the directive.
However, most EU justice ministers agreed to support the directive, which will seek to harmonise European rules regarding the storage of internet and telephone data to help fight terrorism and crime. The directive, which must gain the approval of the European Parliament, sets a maximum of two years for the storage of data; however, derogations have been included in the text for states that already store data for longer.
Earlier this year the Government passed some of the toughest legislation in Europe on data retention, forcing firms to store communications data for at least three years.
Ireland had also been working with France, Britain, and Sweden to push for a framework decision by states at EU level to harmonise European law on the issue.