Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 58:

In page 51, between lines 3 and 4, to insert the following: “43.Section 2 of the Act of 1993 is amended—

(a) by the insertion of the following definitions after the definition of “busway scheme”:

“ ‘camera’ includes CCTV and other apparatus used for the purposes of creating and capturing photographic images and video;

‘CCTV’ means any fixed system employing recording devices for recording or processing, including through the use of automatic number plate recognition, a visual image or moving visual images in a public place;”,

(b) by the insertion of the following definition after the definition of “pedal cycle” and “pedal cyclist”:

“ ‘personal data” has the same meaning as it has in Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016;”,

and

(c) in the definition of “road”—

(i) in paragraph (b), by the substitution of “carriageway (whether single or multiple and whether or not designated for a particular class of vehicle),” for “carriageway (whether single or multiple),”,

(ii) in paragraph (c), by the insertion of “verge,” after “margin,”, and

(iii) in paragraph (d)—

(I) by the deletion of “and”, and

(II) by the substitution of “used, or the use of which is reasonably required, for” for “necessary for”.”.

Amendments Nos. 58 and 62 are related to the issue of the development of busways and to the use of CCTV. Under "busway", section 43 provides for an amendment to the definition of a road in section 2 of the Roads Act 1993. To provide clarity on what constitutes part of the road, it is proposed to make a change to paragraph (b) by substituting "carriageway (whether single or multiple and whether or not designated for a particular class of vehicle)" with "carriageway (whether single or multiple)" and to paragraph (c) in the definition of "road" by inserting of the word "verge" after "margin". These changes are included in the existing Bill, but as further changes are being made to the definition of a road, it is proposed to delete section 43 from the Bill and restate the proposed changes set out above.

There is also an amendment proposed to allow for a change to paragraph (d) of the definition of a road in the Roads Act 1993. It is proposed to insert the words "used, or the use of which is reasonably required, for" in place of "necessary for". The reference to "necessary" potentially sets too high a threshold and needs to be altered to make it clear that the definition extends to anything used or reasonably capable of being used in connection with the safety, convenience, benefit and amenity of road users, including the provision of information. This amendment will reflect the reality of the range of facilities and infrastructure that is now provided as a matter of course as part of a public road and are not strictly speaking "necessary for" the safety, convenience or amenity of road users.

On the second of these amendments, which deals with CCTV, it recently came to the attention of the Department that Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, is using a network of CCTV for cameras to monitor traffic and to assist with enforcement. Local authorities use similar systems for traffic management and monitoring. Cameras are used to monitor and manage the movement of general traffic, public transport and various other different transport modes. These allow TII and local authorities to identify incidents, accidents, congestion, delays and other appropriate actions. Enforcement cameras can be located at toll plazas or along road gantries, such as those on the M50.

At each enforcement location, the system of enforcement cameras monitors vehicles and captures necessary information, such as number plates, to support the management of the road. These cameras are generally fixed mounted and generate images that are used for post-image capture processing, such as automatic number plate recognition.

Traffic cameras are also used to monitor and manage other incidents, such as marches, protests and other events, including weather-related events. TII and road authorities share the data from these cameras with a number of bodies, in particular the emergency services, public transport operators such as Dublin Bus and Luas, and local authorities. On behalf of TII, several contracted service providers also have access to this information.

These cameras, and particularly the use of data, are being used without a proper legislative basis. The enforcement use of cameras, by its nature, requires identifying individual vehicles. While most of the traffic management information is captured from a distance and does not include individually distinctive information, it is possible for the cameras to zoom in, and some images of registration plates and at times faces may be captured. This amounts to personally identifying data and can raise concerns about the protection of the data in question and of individual rights in light of the general data protection regulation, GDPR.

Legal advice obtained is that this matter can be addressed by regulations in the short term. However, this solution will have effect only until 6 December 2022 due to section 6(2) of the Data Sharing and Governance Act 2019. It is, therefore, imperative that proper provision be put in place in an Act of the Oireachtas before that date.

It is proposed to address this situation by an amendment to insert a new section 77A into the Roads Act 1993 to allow for the provision of cameras by both TII and the local authorities, including CCTV cameras, and for the use of data from those cameras. The proposed additional section 77A will give a basis for the provision of cameras, including setting up and operation of cameras, first, for the safe and efficient management, operation and use of public roads, including traffic management and providing information to the public; second, for charging and collecting tolls and the operation of toll roads; third, for the deterrence, prevention, investigation and detection of criminal offences, including road traffic offences; and, fourth, for any other purpose to be prescribed by the Minister. The amendment will also address the publishing by TII or each relevant local authority of a schedule of the cameras in question operating on public roads. Finally, we will provide a legal basis for the sharing and processing or use of data from cameras in operation between a local authority, TII, the Garda Síochána, the National Transport Authority, the Road Safety Authority and any other person the Minister considers necessary for the purposes outlined above.

We are making sure that appropriate protections are in place for the sharing of data, for data sharing agreements, for the safeguarding of data and for directions, guidelines, standards and regulations. This is obviously not a position any of us want to be in. Traffic cameras are an essential tool for managing traffic. Come December, it will be necessary to have primary legislation in place to enable them to be used in a way which protects data in an appropriate manner. I hope the committee will appreciate that we reacted promptly to this matter as soon as it came to our attention and that we have developed the necessary proposals here to address it. In fact, it might have been a Limerick case that prompted this need for legislation before 6 December. It is a highly sensitive issue. It is important that we get the regulations right and that we respect the need for privacy as contained within the GDPR but also that we do not have an unenforceable use of cameras, which would be the case if we did not legislate.