John Halligan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

First, this Bill has the potential to be of invaluable benefit to criminal investigations and I believe it to be worthy of support in its current form. We should have begun the recording of the DNA of violent and repeat offenders a long time ago. It also is welcome that it will assist in the identification of missing and unknown persons, including unidentified human remains. Provided that appropriate privacy safeguards are included, DNA databases are indispensable crime-fighting weapons. The appropriate use of profiles obtained from DNA samples can enable law enforcement officials to more rapidly eliminate innocent people from their inquiries. There also is a theory that taking criminals' DNA samples actually will lower crime rates because such DNA samples will work as a deterrent by increasing the likelihood that a criminal will be convicted if he or she is caught.

However, I have some concerns the Minister should address and I hope the Bill will not be open to abuse. For example, it is critical that this proposed legislation has the necessary safeguards and procedures for destruction. At present, approximately 30,000 DNA samples are being added to the United Kingdom's database each month. Recently, the Supreme Court in the United States passed down a ruling stating it is legal to take DNA swabs from arrestees without a warrant on the grounds that a DNA check swab is similar to other common jailhouse procedures such as fingerprinting. Some states in the United States have passed legislation requiring the collection of DNA samples from people convicted of some low-level crimes including shoplifting and drug possession. I hope we do not reach a similar stage here in Ireland. For instance, in the future will there be an extension of this Bill's provisions beyond its current inception? I have no doubt but that the temptation may be there to expand the use of DNA databases. I note, for instance, that over a ten-year period in the United States, law enforcement officials went from collecting DNA from convicted sex offenders to now doing so from people who have been arrested but have not been convicted of a crime. This is the reason that while I consider the Bill to be worthy of support and I intend to support it, the civil liberties of individuals must be protected.

The Irish Council for Civil Liberties has raised some valid points regarding the Bill and I ask the Minister to consider them. I refer in particular to the extent to which samples and DNA profiles generated from DNA samples may be transmitted to other states, including some outside the European Union. While I missed the Minister's earlier comments in this regard, he might tell Members again whether samples will be transmitted to other states and if so, under what circumstances and whether they may be sent outside the European Union to, for instance, the United States. I do not oppose the sending of samples under certain circumstances. I refer to the example of a serious criminal on the run who may be known to be in a particular state but who cannot be found or, even if such an individual was arrested, there may not be sufficient evidence, whereas such evidence may exist in Ireland, perhaps through DNA testing of a crime he committed here.

I would not have a problem with it then being sent to that state but I would have serious problem if it were sent to states where human rights abuses are prevalent, and they are prevalent in many states. There could be abuse in that respect in such an instance. The Minister might clarify that area.

The Minister may have done this already but I ask that he consider referring the Bill for review to the Irish Human Rights Commission under section 8(b) of the Human Rights Commission Act 2000. Provided they include appropriate privacy safegrounds, DNA databases are indispensable crime fighting weapons.

I would not have a problem supporting the Bill once I had the Minister's assurance on the destruction over a period of time of the DNA that is collected and that the DNA samples would not be sent to inappropriate countries which have a very poor record in terms of human rights.

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