Paul Connaughton (Galway East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Harnessing scientific developments for the good of society is a key element of scientific advancement. This Bill seeks to do that by providing for the compilation of a database that will become a key tool in the fight against serious crime. As criminals are keeping abreast of developments in science and technology, police forces and justice enforcement systems must do likewise. Ireland is not alone in facing the questions posed by scientific advancement. This Bill will allow the State to meet its obligations under the EU Prüm Council decision which allows for comparisons to be made between databases compiled by various member states for the purposes of criminal investigation. In an increasingly globalised world, we have to take account of the ability of criminals to move from one jurisdiction to another. The compilation of a database of key individual signifiers, such as DNA and fingerprints, is just one crucial tool in the fight against national and international crime.

Under the Bill, most subjects detained by the Garda in connection with serious crime will have a DNA swab sample taken. Offenders on the sex offenders register will also have samples taken but only from the time the legislation takes effect. Children under the age of 14 and vulnerable people are excluded from the requirement to have samples taken, but this is not the case where such a sample would prove or disprove the person's involvement in a crime. This is a sensible measure. It is interesting to note that the database will also include profiles taken from scenes prior to the enactment of the legislation. An elimination index will includes samples from people whose work brings them into contact with crime scenes, which means that gardaí and staff of the Forensic Science Laboratory will have samples taken as part of this database.

The development of this databank also introduces the possibility of establishing the innocence of people who have been wrongly convicted. Where possible, profiles relating to missing persons will be compiled by using profiles from their relatives. Ill people who are unable to identify themselves will also have samples taken. On a number of occasions in recent years, the bodies of Irish people who died in the Irish Sea have turned up in Wales or England. It is to be hoped that this database will greatly reduce the extremely stressful time that families of missing people endure while waiting to find out if the deceased person is their missing loved one. While samples taken for the database will be destroyed within six months, each profile will be retained on the database. I welcome the fact that suspects who are not convicted can have their DNA profiles removed from the database after six years. This provision is subject to the agreement of the Garda Commissioner.

Of course, the creation of a database of this nature raises many questions. For that reason, I welcome the significant oversight that is provided for in the Bill, including the establishment of an oversight committee to be chaired by a judge or former judge of the High Court or Circuit Court. Such a proviso is necessary to ensure proper oversight of this important database. Ten years have passed since the Attorney General asked the Law Reform Commission to consider the establishment of a DNA databank. The intervening decade has seen many advancements in the area of DNA identification and a number of high-profile cases in Ireland. The passing of that decade gave Irish legislators an opportunity to benefit from test cases taken against such databases in Europe. I refer in particular to a case in which the European Court of Human Rights found that the retention by the authorities in England and Wales of the profiles of people who were subsequently acquitted violated their rights. Such decisions were taken into account in the drafting of the Irish legislation.

Much consideration has been given to the human rights of the suspects from whom samples are taken. This is right and proper. The real benefit of this database is that it will allow for the detection of the criminals responsible for undetected crimes. Historically in Ireland, many rapists have got away with their crimes because there was no evidence to link them to their victims. Many grievous assaults were never properly punished because no individual link was found between the perpetrator and the victim. I hope this Bill will result in the detection of many more crimes. Perhaps it will serve as a deterrent in some cases if criminals believe there is an increased likelihood of being apprehended for crimes. The incorporation into Irish law of this Bill, which is at least a decade in the making, will represent a significant step forward in the fight against crime in Ireland.

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