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Bill to implement EU rules on e-evidence

The Cabinet has approved the priority drafting of a bill that will set up a new office to facilitate co-operation with other EU states on criminal justice.

The Department of Justice has published the General Scheme of the Criminal Justice (International Cooperation Office) Bill 2025, which sets out the powers of the new Criminal Justice International Cooperation Office.

The office is being set up to implement the EU e-Evidence Regulation and Directive.

‘Production orders’

The EU’s e-evidence package allows authorities in one EU member state to issue ‘production orders’ – binding orders to produce evidence – to service providers headquartered in other EU jurisdictions.

Under the directive, service providers must designate an ‘addressee’ to deal with incoming orders. The department says that more than 600 organisations are expected to designate an ‘addressee’ in Ireland.

It estimates that the number of production orders issued to service providers based in Ireland will exceed 300,000 a year, with Irish authorities  likely to issue around 2,000 orders to providers in other EU states.

‘Cohesive approach’

The department says that the establishment of the co-operation office will provide a cohesive approach to digital regulation in the criminal-justice area, centralising the necessary skills and expertise, and ensuring a streamlined regulatory framework based around a single regulator.

Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan said that the move would make it easier and more efficient for law-enforcement and judicial authorities in Ireland, and across Europe, to obtain the evidence they needed to investigate and prosecute serious crime.

“The establishment of this new office will have significant benefits for the service providers based in Ireland, in terms of their ability to comply with the requirements of the EU e-evidence package and other international co-operation instruments,” he added.