Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) (Amendment) Bill 2025: Committee Stage
Seanad Éireann — 2026-06-10
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Jim O'Callaghan (FF), Dublin Bay South

I thank the Senator for her amendment and her contribution. I discussed this in the Dáil with Deputy Carthy. I cannot accept it.
When you look at what biometric analysis will be doing, it is a tool that will assist the Garda in sorting and filtering data so that a human reviewer can narrow down avenues of investigation. That is the purpose of it - to speed up the process in order to protect victims who could be in immediate danger. If we take an example of a child sexual abuse investigation where there would be thousands of images over which biometric analysis could be performed, if the approach in the Senator's amendment were to be adopted it would require biometric analysis of each image to be approved by a chief superintendent. It would be untenable for the gardaí, in terms of the work they are doing and the tools they are availing of, to get the permission of a superintendent for each image. They would lose valuable time seeking authorisations. They would lose time identifying vulnerable victims and waste valuable Garda time. It makes no operational sense to proceed in this manner proposed by the amendment.
Identifiable persons will be responsible not only for reviewing the footage or images, but also for any decisions made in the course of an investigation.
As I stated earlier, a code of practice will be set out by the Garda Commissioner after consultation with the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission and the Data Protection Commission. It will then come to me. I will sign it and make it a code of practice, but it only becomes effective if this House and the Dáil approve it. That is where the protections should be in place.
If this amendment was put in, it would inordinately delay the effectiveness and the operation of the tool.

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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