Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Rather than having to go to my local station with a USB stick, what is the difference if I upload the footage to a portal the Garda has designed and where it has put in place the necessary expertise to accept and collate that evidence? That is the part I do not understand. The legislation we have in place right now allows for a full prosecution of dangerous behaviour arising from video evidence submitted by a member of the public. Nothing is changing other than the process by which that evidence is submitted. I do not understand why that has become somehow connected to the development of the DEMS or the progress of legislation. For example, with respect to camera enforcement, last year the Minister for Transport said:

As this Department is responsible for the drafting of Road Traffic legislation, I am happy to clarify the legal status of such cameras. Section 81 of the Road Traffic Act 2010 does in fact already provide for the use of cameras, if so required, by the Gardai to assist in the detection of certain traffic offences under the Road Traffic Acts.

What legislative impediment, therefore, is preventing the Garda from separating the DEMS and the body-worn cameras, which I acknowledge are a huge challenge from a GDPR perspective and other perspectives, from the online portal?