International Protection Bill 2026: Committee Stage (Resumed)
Seanad Éireann — 2026-03-19
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Jim O'Callaghan (FF), Dublin Bay South

I am sorry, but I am responding to the Senator. The other issue she mentioned was facial recognition. She referred to the UK's technology in the Home Office. One of the things that is very noticeable is that the UK is at a considerable disadvantage now that it is no longer in the European Union, because the European Union does have very advanced technology systems and it does have quite a significant database in terms of asylum applications. When somebody comes in to claim asylum, it is not unreasonable to ask them for their name, their identity and other details. I think Senator Higgins will agree that it is perfectly reasonable to be able to ask somebody their name and for them to give their details and their background. It is also not unreasonable for the State to check that, and if it is found to be false, to put to the person that the Eurodac system says that is not their identity but this is their identity and let the person respond to that. Ultimately, the process will play out. It will be part of the evidence in the application process if somebody's identity is questionable and they have not established the correct identity. If somebody comes in and gives false identification, if and when that arises, that is a very material factor in determining whether or not the person should be entitled to receive asylum.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-03-19/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:45+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-03-19