I thank all Senators for their contributions and for their broad support for the legislation. Most of them have alluded to the concerning figures and the facts that are very clear. To be honest, the figures that we see, even with the increase in those coming forward, are probably just the tip of the iceberg. There is a perception that we are seeing an increase in cases. However, we could look at it in a more positive way in that it is actually an increase in the number of women coming forward and reporting those ca…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue, which I know is of importance to her. I previously outlined complications whereby we had to take on a new person to conduct the review. That person is now not finishing the review. A body of work has been done. The competition has closed now and I hope to appoint a new person to finalise the review in the coming weeks. A body of work has been done already and the new person will not be starting from scratch. The competition has closed, meaning I will be in a position to ap…

I am happy to discuss this particular case with the Deputy. Any decision to carry out a cold-case review would need to be taken by the Garda, but I am happy to discuss it with the Deputy later.

Amendments Nos.1 and 2 are minor technical drafting amendments that will insert a letter "a" before both "uniform" and "helmet" in the definition of "body-worn camera" in section 2. Amendments Nos. 13, 33, 70, and 74 are again minor technical amendments that will insert semicolons in place of commas in sections 12, 21, 35, and 43. Amendment No. 40 is a minor technical amendment to section No. 26 which changes the word "and" to "or". Amendment No. 53 is a minor technical drafting amendment to section 28 for consiste…

Section 47 already stipulates what can be included in a code of practice. Section 47(2) provides for An Garda Síochána to set out different provisions for different types of recording devices when drafting the codes. This means that what the Senator is seeking in amendments Nos. 3 and 4 is already provided for. The codes of practice will not be included in the Bill directly; they will, however, be set out by An Garda Síochána and there will be a process that is clearly outlined in the Bill. In addition, the Garda C…

I have the groupings I have in front of me. I do not know if the list is the same as the one the Senator has.

I have amendments Nos. 7, 8, 9, 11, and 12 in this group.

I will respond to-----

I will respond to all of them. I will take them in order. Senator Keogan spoke about amendment No. 7. I know she was not available at that time but on Committee Stage I said clearly that this is an operational matter for the Garda Commissioner. Again, a lot of what we are discussing in these groupings are matters that will be set out in the codes of practice rather than in the Bill. As part of the drafting of a code of practice, there will be a consultation with stakeholders, as outlined by Senator Ward. There will…

There will be a pilot, absolutely.

That will be in the middle of next year.

The Senator's amendment is not being accepted because it asks for training which is not a competency of this legislation. It is for the Commissioner to roll out.

I can come back on that. However, training is an operational matter for the Commissioner and so it is not within our remit here. As the Garda Commissioner has very clearly shown with the rollout of specialist units in any area, training is absolutely paramount. For front-line gardaí using specialist equipment, whether it is CCTV or otherwise, it will be part of the overall training. However, it is not for me to specify in legislation what training the Commissioner should or should not roll out. It is an operational…

It will be carried out-----

We just discussed this but, again, I appreciate where the Senator is coming from. Regarding amendment No. 14, I do not think it is appropriate that the Houses of the Oireachtas legislate for the codes of practice or codes of conduct. Such an operational matter must be developed by the Garda but there must be oversight and ability for discussion, debate, engagement and for everybody to have their say, not only those working in An Garda Síochána and associated authorities but also those looking at civil liberties and…

It is explicitly stated in section 62 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005 that it is an offence for a member to disclose any information obtained in the course of carrying out their duties. This includes any information, whether it is a recording or video footage, not only of an intimate image but any type of-----

It is any information. It is anything they come across in the course of their duties, whether a case they are working on or a case somebody else is working on. This covers all of the issues. It is already a criminal offence. I do not want to repeat what is already a criminal offence in another Act. It is there, it is established and it has been in place since 2005. I fully agree with the Senator in that the issues with social media, end-to-end encryption and WhatsApp messages are problematic for so many reasons. At…

The reason is that it might sometimes be necessary for a garda to share information in the course of duty, but where the sharing is crossing a line and is not to deal with a case or is unnecessary, it is a different matter. Someone who is part of a team might have to share the information for very valid purposes. The reason for the reference to a harmful effect is to distinguish between the sharing of information that is clearly not required as part of one's duty or an investigation and the sharing of information t…

It would. I do not have to hand all the details relating to the Act in question because we are not focusing on it now. However, I have been told very clearly that what the Senator is trying to achieve is very much covered by the 2005 Act. I am not sure I am going to be able to satisfy the Senator in this discussion. It is a question of any information obtained. The reason for the reference to harmful effect is that there is information-sharing that is not harmful because it is done in the course of dealing with a c…

I thank the Deputies for their contributions and Deputy Ó Ríordáin for tabling the amendment and raising this point. He referred to the organisations and individuals who have worked in this space for many decades. At every step of the way in the development of the zero tolerance strategy, but also this agency, I have tried to make sure their views, voices, concerns, experiences and overall ambition for the agency are taken on board. We have been able to achieve that. I understand the ambition of the amendment is to…