Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) (Amendment) Bill 2025: Committee Stage Seanad Éireann — 2026-06-10 ============================================================ Jim O'Callaghan (FF), Dublin Bay South I thank the Senator for her amendment and her contribution. Her amendment seeks to make a minor but significant change to section 43A and, in particular, the definition of "biometric analysis". The section we are discussing here seeks to put section 43A into the Act. That is the first section in the new Part that is entitled "Carrying out of biometric analysis by members of Garda personnel". Obviously, it is appropriate that we define what biometric analysis is. Senator Ruane's amendment recognises that the first part of the biometric analysis sets out in three paragraphs a definition of what it is, but then the part that she wants to delete in this amendment is line 33, which states: "but does not include biometric identification;". In the legislation over the page, we then include a definition of "biometric identification". If this amendment went in, we would still find ourselves left with the issue of the definition of "biometric identification". Let me try to deal with it in layman's terms, or the only terms I understand in respect of this issue. Facial recognition technology comes under two headings: biometric analysis and biometric identification. In respect of both of them, we can have either retrospective biometric analysis or identification, or live biometric analysis or identification. What we are talking about in this legislation is the introduction of retrospective biometric analysis. I intend in future, and I am sure it will be more contentious than this, to bring forward legislation that will seek to introduce biometric identification and, indeed, live biometric identification and analysis. However, to describe what biometric analysis is, the best thing is to use an example from An Garda Síochána and the work it is doing, because that is the purpose of the legislation here. If the Garda has a video and video images of a person whom it believes committed a criminal offence, and it has the person on the screen, biometric analysis is going to assist the Garda in figuring out whether that person on the screen is the same person who is on a video later on entering a house in some other area or on a street elsewhere. You do not have a database of individuals against whom you are checking to see if that individual is identifiable on the database. Instead, biometric analysis is simply comparing the images of one person on one screen with another person on another screen. The benefit of it is that it will be able to tell gardaí that the person who is on O'Connell Street there is the same person who is getting off a bus in Rathmines half an hour later. They do not know who the person is, but the analysis facilitates them in identifying the movements of that person. If we look at the definition of "biometric analysis", really it is in paragraph (b) of section 43A that we get the specific definition of what I am stating there: in relation to a particular, but unidentified, individual, the automated recognition and categorising of physical, physiological or behavioural human features by the use of specific technical processing of documents obtained by An Garda Síochána in the course of an investigation, in respect of instances of the particular unidentified individual ... To put it in the simplest terms, biometric analysis is trying to identify unidentified individuals and figure out whether that person there is the same as the person on the other screen. That is what analysis is. It is also going to be used, however, for the purpose of a missing person. In that instance, you will have the identity of a missing person, somebody will be able to identify a photograph of the child, and you can do biometric analysis by checking different screens to see if that child comes up. "Biometric identification" is defined in this legislation as follows: "‘biometric identification’ means, in relation to an individual, the automated recognition of physical, physiological or behavioural human features for the purpose of ascertaining, or attempting to ascertain, the identity of an individual by comparing biometric data of the individual to biometric data stored in a database of one or more named individuals ... The really important distinction between analysis and identification is that when it comes to identification, you are checking somebody against a database. To use the example of the Garda station, if biometric identification is introduced by the Oireachtas in due course, a garda looking at an individual on-screen will be able to check that individual's image - face - against a database of individuals. That is not what this legislation is doing. This legislation is analysis, comparing whether that unidentified person is the same as another unidentified person later on. The amendment by Senator Ruane proposes to remove the exclusion of biometric identification from the definition of "biometric analysis". Drafting conventions sometimes require that a term be defined relative to another definition. In this instance, biometric analysis is everything listed in subsections (a) to (c) but it is also, for the avoidance of doubt, not biometric identification. It is of benefit to those who are opposed to biometric identification to know that biometric identification is not included in this legislation. There is no doubt about that. As I say, I will be coming back at another date seeking to introduce it. I note that this proposal to remove reference to biometric identification is not accompanied by an amendment that deletes the definition of "biometric identification". This would confuse the Bill's intention and bring ambiguity to the Garda's powers vis-à-vis biometric technologies. The amendment would seem to allow for the possibility for Garda use of biometric identification without any of the accompanying safeguards and oversight. Biometric identification will be provided for in another Bill. I hope to publish its general scheme in the coming months. With the greatest of respect to Senator Ruane, I do not think the amendment serves any purpose. What would happen is that we would have a definition of "biometric analysis" and we would still have within the legislation a definition of "biometric identification". I would have thought, if it was being interpreted by a court, they would say there was obviously some purpose for including a definition of "biometric identification". In fact, the only reason is to exclude it from the definition of "biometric analysis". Senator Ruane also asked why I was not using the definition of "biometric identification" as set out in the AI Act. As I said, biometric identification is defined in this Bill as a type of biometric processing that is not covered by biometric analysis. The definition provides that biometric identification is the comparison of biometric data of an individual against a database of images. The scope of what is being provided for in terms of biometric identification will be clearer in the second Bill. My understanding is that we opted into the AI Act, certainly the policing sections of it. I am fairly satisfied that there is no inconsistency between what is in this legislation and what is in the AI Act. When it comes to our obligations under the GDPR, I believe this legislation is completely compliant with it as well. As I indicated earlier to Senator Boyhan, there is a procedure set out in section 10 of the Bill for the preparation of codes of practice. That code of practice requires the Garda Commissioner, before it is approved by me, to consult with the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission and the Data Protection Commission. I am very satisfied that when it comes to the code of practice and, indeed, the primary legislation, there would be complete compliance with GDPR data retention requirements and any human rights obligations. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-06-10/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:02+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-06-10