Air passenger data collection to expand
Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration Jim O’Callaghan has secured Government approval to introduce significant amendments to the Criminal Law and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026.
The proposed changes will expand the statutory regime for processing Passenger Name Record (PNR) data, aligning Irish law with recent European Court of Justice (EUCJ) rulings while broadening the scope of aviation security.
The minister stated that the amendments are intended to "bridge the security gap" currently existing in intra-EU travel.
Expansion to intra-EU flights
Currently, the Irish Passenger Information Unit (IPIU) within the Department of Justice only collects PNR data for ‘extra-EU’ flights, arriving from or departing to countries outside the European Union.
The new amendments will extend this requirement to intra-EU flights.
Under the updated regime, airlines will be required to provide passenger data for flights between Ireland and other EU member states.
The selection of these flights will be based on specific risk assessments.
However, the power to apply the requirement to all intra-EU flights will apply in the event of a "genuine and present or foreseeable terrorist threat."
Alignment
The amendments will align Irish law with a judgment from the European Court of Justice regarding the 2016 EU PNR Directive.
That ruling established limits on how long passenger data can be stored and who may access it.
Safeguards included in the amendments are:
- Data retention limits: The IPIU will be prohibited from retaining PNR data beyond six months unless a specific link is established connecting the data to serious crime or terrorism,
- Independent Oversight: All requests for the disclosure of PNR data must now be approved by an authority independent of the Passenger Information Unit,
- Purpose limitation: The data, which includes information provided by passengers during booking such as itineraries and payment methods, remains restricted to the prevention, detection, investigation, and prosecution of terrorist offenses and serious crime.
The 2018 EU PNR Data Regulations previously transposed the initial EU Directive, but the optional extension to internal EU flights had not been fully utilised until now.
The amendments are currently being drafted and are scheduled to the bill 2026 during the committee stage in the Dáil.