It is a great privilege to welcome to the Gallery members of the Muslim Sisters of Éire, an incredible group of women who will be known to anyone who has spent time in our capital city. They are some of the most selfless and servant-hearted women you could ever meet. They spend hours upon hours every week on the cold streets of Dublin, helping to feed those who are homeless. Every Friday night, they are on O'Connell Street in front of the GPO, providing hot meals, fresh fruit and water. It is no exaggeration to say…

On Tuesday, I hosted a presentation in the audiovisual, AV, room on human trafficking in Ireland. It came a day after the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, published her third action plan on the prevention and combating of this crime and human rights abuses. We heard from Kevin Hyland, a former police officer who headed up Scotland Yard’s anti-human trafficking unit. He was appointed as the UK’s first independent anti-slavery commissioner and he co-founded the Santa Marta Group, an anti-trafficking charity that…

I move amendment No. 3: In page 7, line 22, after “system” to insert “specified in a relevant code of practice”.

The current definition of "recording device" in the Bill is very broad, so all types of recording devices or systems used by An Garda Síochána should, at the very least, be specified in a relevant code of practice. Ideally, there should be a list of all the approved devices. In the absence of that, we should have a proper code of practice regarding the use of such devices. That applies in the context of both amendments Nos. 3 and 4.

Can I deal with that amendment?

I know it has been ruled out of order but to have the cameras calibrated is really important. I am aware it is a cost on the Exchequer. Ultimately, however, if these cameras are not doing what they are supposed to, they are not functioning properly. If they are not checked by suppliers approved by the Private Security Authority, PSA, then this legislation is not worth its salt because there will be no calibration of the CCTV within a particular device.

I move amendment No. 7: In page 10, lines 16 to 18, to delete all words from and including “order;” in line 16 down to and including line 18 and substitute “order where there are reasonable grounds to believe there is a significant threat;”.

Retained automatic number plate recognition, ANPR, data is not defined in the Bill. It is unclear if it refers to a retained pool of ANPR data pertaining to all vehicles or ANPR data strictly pertaining to vehicles of interest on a watchlist. Will the Minister specify which it is? This amendment would allow searches of retained ANPR data to be carried out without the requirement of reasonable grounds to believe there is significant threat to public safety or order. This could have a chilling effect on the right to …

I did not get to speak because of the groupings, again, on amendments Nos. 9 or 11.

I spoke on amendment No. 7.

I thank the Acting Chairperson.

On section 9, although the Minister has committed to introducing a pilot scheme, the training of gardaí on these devices is really important. I cannot stress that enough. Many gardaí do not even know how to access current CCTV data. It is really important to have training for whoever will be controlling the data. To avoid the risk of problems arising, it is very reasonable to have an amendment asking for the pilot schemes before deployment. The schemes should test the effectiveness for a specified purpose and facil…

There will be a pilot scheme and that will be in the middle of next year.

Is the Minister accepting my amendment then?

As Minister, can she not instruct the Garda Commissioner to facilitate the training of personnel who will be in charge of the data?

Who will be carrying out the privacy impact assessment or the data protection impact assessment after this? Whose role is that? Is that the Minister's role or is it the Commissioner's role?

It will be the Commissioner.

I move amendment No. 9: In page 11, between lines 3 and 4, to insert the following: “(f) shall do so after receiving sufficient training to make them suitably qualified to use the relevant device, and after receiving sufficient data protection training so as to render them proficient in operating the device in accordance with legislation regulating the use of data, (g) shall do so after a pilot scheme in respect of that device has been completed, and the results of which have been assessed and published,”.

I move amendment No. 11: In page 11, to delete lines 21 and 22 and substitute the following: “(a) is worn in a location and manner that maximises the camera’s ability to capture video footage of the Garda member’s activities, and”

I call for a debate with the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Harris, on the appropriateness of withholding funding from Irish higher education institutes, HEIs, which have not been rubber-stamped by a British NGO. The NGO in question is Advance HE, which supervises Athena SWAN. It was founded in 2018 as a merger of the UK's Equality Challenge Unit, Higher Education Academy and Leadership Foundation for Higher Education. Not only is it an English NGO, it is one who…