Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) (Amendment) Bill 2025: Report and Final Stages Seanad Éireann — 2026-06-23 ============================================================ Jim O'Callaghan (FF), Dublin Bay South I thank Senator Higgins for tabling this amendment and for her contribution. I often look for areas where we have agreement. There is agreement between us to the effect that there is a difference between biometric analysis and biometric identification. That is why in this legislation there is in the first instance a definition of "biometric analysis". the legislation then states that this "does not include biometric identification". The legislation proceeds to define biometric identification. The Senator's criticism is that the definition of "biometric identification" is not on all fours with the definition of "biometric identification" in the AI Act. Maybe I am being harsh on her in respect of this, but the political charge is that in some respects I am trying to get biometric identification in through the back door via this legislation, when, in fact, I am stating that this deals with biometric analysis. I have two things to say in response to the Senator. The first is that the AI Act is a regulation that is directly effective and no matter what I do or what the Oireachtas does, we are bound by the AI Act. The second is that I have repeatedly stated that although this legislation seeks to deal with biometric analysis, I intend to bring forward legislation to permit biometric identification. The real difference between biometric analysis and biometric identification - in fairness, this is what Senator Higgins read out when she recited the definition of biometric identification - is that biometric identification involves referencing biometric information against a database of such information. The example I gave on the previous occasion is that the biometric information of an individual is taken and is checked against a database of facial images or other biometric information, including the gait or other strong characteristics of an individual, that can be available that is contained in a separate database. That is different from what biometric analysis. The latter is a means of filtering or sorting information to facilitate An Garda Síochána in speeding up a process of investigation. Amendments Nos. 1 to 3, inclusive, proposed by Senators Higgins and Ruane would amend the definition of "biometric analysis" to include reference to biometric identification systems and to remove the exclusion of biometric identification from the existing definition. Amendment No. 3 would also substitute the definition of "biometric identification" for that which is set out in Article 3(35) of the AI Act. The fundamental purpose of this Bill, which, as I say, is the biometric analysis Bill, is to provide the Garda with the power to analyse information by utilising biometrics on a retrospective basis. In the context of this Bill, biometric analysis is the preliminary step in the sphere of biometric processing. This is about analysis, not identification. The current definition of "biometric analysis" will allow the Garda, subject to the requirements under Part 6A, to search for general characteristics for a particular unknown or known individual. The types of person that can be searched are set out in the proposed new section 43C(6). The definition of "biometric analysis" excludes biometric identification. As Senator Higgins will be aware I will be providing for biometric identification and its limitations in another Bill, as I have said previously. I am hoping to publish the general scheme of that Bill this year. For the avoidance of doubt, biometric identification should be considered as searching against databases to establish the identity of an individual. To illustrate this point, gardaí may have a photograph of a person. In the normal course, such a photograph may be circulated to other gardaí to find out if the person's identity is known. It would be useful in certain situations if gardaí could use a facial image to search against a database to see if that person is a convicted criminal, for example, but this particular use of biometrics is not what the Bill is providing for, which is why it must be clear that it has been excluded from the definition of biometric analysis. Respectfully, to insert the amendments suggested by Senator Higgins would be to miss the purpose of the Bill. This is a standard drafting approach to define a concept in terms of what it is and what it is not. The amendments proposed by Senator Higgins may, in fact, broaden out what may be permitted under this Bill beyond what is intended. To insert the amendments is to miss the key distinction between analysis and identification. I am not accepting the amendments. Digital evidence is part of almost every Garda investigation. This Bill is allowing for the sorting and filtering of information where necessary and proportionate to do so for serious crime. Gardaí gather data during investigation. That data will invariably, depending on the crime, contain large swathes of video or imagery. What this Bill is doing is giving the Garda the power to sort through data quickly while ensuring that there is a human reviewer who is making decisions throughout an investigative cycle. Any instances found of a person in footage gathered from a crime scene are to aid gardaí in ruling people in or out as potential persons of interest. I understand Senator Higgins's comments about biometric analysis not being referred to in the AI Act but to be clear, what we are proposing to allow the Garda to do with this Bill is analyse documents, such as video or images, gathered in the course of an investigation and utilise biometrics subject to certain safeguards, including that of necessity and proportionality. The term makes it clear what the Garda can do. I am satisfied that there is no inconsistency between what is in this legislation and what is in the AI Act. When it comes to our responsibilities and obligations under data protection legislation, the Bill is compatible there, too. For those reasons, I am afraid I cannot accept Senator Higgins's amendments. I fully recognise that there is a difference between biometric analysis and biometric identification. I am expressly providing in this legislation that we are not dealing with biometric identification. I will be coming back to the House in due course with other legislation that will deal with biometric identification and I very much look forward to hearing Senator Higgins's comments in respect of that as well. --- 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/2026-06-23/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:05+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-06-23