The breaches of data protection laws which have been reported in the media and confirmed by the Sinn Féin Party leader yesterday are extremely alarming. They raise fundamental questions about how secure the democratic system in this country is from outside interference. Some might dismiss this because they want the story to disappear but in the context of the electoral reform Bill it is critical that we examine these questions and put safeguards in place.

There is something really dodgy about all of this. It seems that Sinn Féin is operating a transnational cyber web of databases with unknown individuals being trained to elicit information from people on social media that they can combine with their voter database system and, to borrow a phrase from their training manual, to pinpoint them in the real world. There is a reason this voter system was located in London and not in Dublin and a reason it was transferred to Frankfurt and is not located in Ireland. Is it because Sinn Féin-----

Gabh mo leithscéal. The Senator has to be careful on the issue of privilege.

Does the Cathaoirleach have an issue with me?

No, but I am just signalling that we did a great deal on this process and I am just asking for caution. That is all.

I will always exercise caution and I would appreciate if the Cathaoirleach would add on the time that he has just taken there.

The Senator need not worry as this time will be added on.

There is a reason this voter system was located in London and not in Dublin and why it was transferred to Frankfurt and not to Ireland.

Senator Warfield has asked, under Standing Order 39, for a 30-second intervention.

Is this relevant to the Order of Business?

Perhaps the Senator might conclude by making his comments by reference to legislation.

This is relevant to an item on the Order of Business.

I ask the Senator to continue, please.

I thank the Cathaoirleach and I would appreciate if he might add on the time from the interruption. Is it because Sinn Fein wants to keep this voter system at arms length from the Data Protection Commissioner, DPC, or because the secret database is a well-financed Sinn Féin asset and was not declared by the party in its Standards In Public Office Commission, SIPO, returns? This seems to me like Cambridge Analytica meets Ardoyne, via Serbia, Frankfurt, Manhattan and London. I suspect even Edward Snowden would find it difficult to get to the bottom of this sophisticated cyber operation.

Sinn Féin says that the Abú system is just the electoral register. That argument does not stand up to scrutiny because everyone in this House knows there is no centralised electoral register in this country. There are 31 individual registers across 31 individual local authorities. It seems that the Oireachtas database is good enough for every other political party in this country but it is not good enough for Sinn Féin.

I welcome the fact the UK data watchdog has joined the Irish DPC in asking questions of the Sinn Féin Party and I certainly hope the data protection officer in Germany will do likewise.

Does the acting Leader agree with me that the only way this controversy can be brought to an end is for Sinn Fein to decommission this database and that, in the context of the electoral reform Bill and the wider discussions on that, we need a very serious debate in this House on this matter?

Hopefully, I will get the same latitude on time.

As long as the Senator is not interrupted, she will.