Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)

I agree with the Deputy but clearly if I was an accused person who allegedly was picked out in an identity parade and I did not see the person picking me out or did not see who was with the person at the time or what they were doing vis-À-vis, me, that would be a matter of concern. One of the implications of the one-way mirror system is that the accused cannot at a later point say what was happening when he or she was identified and, therefore, a case could be made for videotaping not merely the parade itself but also the room in which the identification took place behind the mirror so it could not be said afterwards the person had difficulties pointing out somebody and pointed towards one person or another in circumstances where the accused could not see what was happening. That is the countervailing difficulty, which would tend to suggest dedicated suites should be used for the purpose. That, in turn, would involve making a serious decision on the number of suites throughout the State. These issues must be considered.

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