Mr. Bob Collins:

The authority sees the potential in that the use of body-worn cameras can be behaviour-modifying both for the Garda Síochána and individuals in circumstances that may be fraught or tense. Over the period of the health emergency in the past 18 months, the authority has been monitoring and overseeing very carefully the exercise by the Garda Síochána of the additional powers that were given to them. In the 15 reports the authority submitted to the Minister, the overwhelming response from the public has been very positive on the approach of the Garda Síochána. A great deal of that derived from the fact there was a new tone and a new approach being deployed and displayed by gardaí. There was more empathy, respect and human engagement, if I could use that term, without in any sense diminishing the work of the gardaí involved. That is an important lesson to be learned from that period.

There is no doubt the experiences of some who engaged with the Garda Síochána are less positive than that, and some of those unhappy experiences have perhaps been intensified during the course of the pandemic. There are also lessons in that on the way in which people and communities are approached. Some communities have a history of poor engagement with the Garda Síochána and responsibility for that rests probably somewhere between both. There is a challenge to be met by the Garda, as there is a challenge for those communities and those who work with them, to find new ways of engagement.

To reiterate a point I made earlier, the codes of practice in this Bill are of critical importance. The value and necessity for extensive public engagement with communities will be of significant importance. The issue-----