Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 9:

In page 19, after line 32, to insert the following:

"PART 7

FORENSIC SCIENCE IRELAND CERTIFICATE EVIDENCE

Certificates relating to receipt, handling, transmission or storage

36.(1) In any criminal proceedings, the production of a certificate purporting to be signed by an officer of Forensic Science Ireland of the Department of Justice and relating to the receipt, handling, transmission or storage, as the case may be, specified in the certificate of any item so specified shall, until the contrary is proved, be evidence of any fact thereby certified without proof of any signature thereon or that any such signature is that of such officer.

(2) Subsection (1) shall apply regardless of whether the receipt, handling, transmission or storage of an item specified in a certificate under that subsection occurred prior to or after the coming into operation of this section.".

This amendment widens the circumstances in which certificate evidence may be provided in respect of the handing, receipt, transmission or storage of items by Forensic Science Ireland. As it stands, section 10 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1984 allows certificate evidence to be given on these matters for drug offences. This system works well.

It allows evidence to be provided, for example, as to when a sample was received, how it was sorted, when it was opened, what controls were put in place and so on. This evidence, while important in establishing the integrity of the test results, is usually not contentious. Allowing evidence to be given in this way avoids delays in trials and the need for forensic officers to be diverted from their work to attend. This is similar to the situation with doctors, which we discussed previously. The amendment would extend this provision to non-drug offences. It is of note that the provision allowing evidence of the results of substantive analysis to be given by certificate will continue to apply only to drugs cases, as is the case with the medical certificate evidence. While a certificate provides evidence, it does not provide conclusive evidence. It remains open to the defence to challenge the evidence provided. Similarly, it remains open to anybody to call someone to challenge specific evidence where it is not contentious. Again, this amendment allows for this to be provided in all instances.