Dara Murphy (Cork North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this important Bill. Approximately a month after I was elected to the Dáil, I was approached by a Garda superintendent from the north west of Cork city who is one of Ireland's finest gardaí. He suggested that if we could do anything at all in government to assist the work of the gardaí in preventing and solving crimes, we should facilitate the development of a DNA database. Following that conversation, I wrote to the Minister, Deputy Shatter, who has been a reforming and hard-working Minister by any yardstick. Deputies do not need to be reminded of the amount of legislation he has put through. I was informed that additional funding would be required by the Forensic Science Laboratory before any legislation could be proceeded with. I am glad to see that has happened. As a result, we are debating this Bill on Second Stage. The superintendent I mentioned told me that the resources being used by the Garda to investigate new crimes - I refer to the collection of evidence such as DNA samples - was placing an enormous strain on the force. He said that the time lost while gardaí investigated evidence that could be kept on a database not only represented a waste of Garda resources and time, but also placed Irish citizens at risk because it gave rise to the potential for other crimes to be committed while these investigations continued.

I would like to mention another meeting I had with a constituent on this issue. A man who came into my office told me he was accused ten years ago of committing a sexual offence, but was not charged or tried. Contrary to the suggestion that no database is available, this man has told me that every time an incident takes place within a certain geographical area, he is contacted by gardaí and required to provide DNA evidence once again. As he is keen to ensure he can be eliminated from Garda inquiries at an early stage, he has suggested that his DNA could be permanently stored on a database. He protests his innocence of the original crime and any subsequent crime. Of course I have no way of knowing whether he is guilty. The presumption of innocence that applies to every person should be protected. While I accept that some civil liberties arguments can be made in this respect, in most cases the need to prevent crime and support and protect the victims of crime has to trump any other concerns we might have. I consider myself a strong supporter of civil liberties, but I do not accept the argument that DNA profiling, which is one of the modern benefits of science, is significantly different from fingerprinting. We must use the scientific tools that are available to us.

I would like to consider the potential for this database to be broadened, for example in the cases of people who are prepared to make voluntary submissions, although I am happy to bow to the Minister's superior knowledge in this regard. It is clear that the area of intellectual difficulties is an extremely sensitive one. It is important to remember that such difficulties can and should be taken into account during court cases and when it comes to sentencing. I am not persuaded that this argument should apply fully when one is taking about means of taking evidence that are not particularly invasive, particularly if they may result in ruling somebody out of a crime. If a person with intellectual difficulties has committed a crime, I suggest those difficulties should be taken account during the court case rather than in the collection of evidence.

I will be interested to see how the six-year rule and the provision relating to the Commissioner will work out over time. Anybody who has not committed a crime and does not intend to commit a crime should be afraid of his or her DNA profile being available on a database for five years to be assessed in cases of serious crime. When I listened to Deputies speaking about the use of the DNA database to establish the identities of people who are found at sea, it struck me that the only circumstances in which this will happen under the current legislation will be if the person in question had been suspected of committing a serious crime. Of course the vast majority of people who are found in such circumstances will not be on such a database. My good friend who works for the Garda in the north west of Cork city - I will not name him - told me he wanted a database of this nature to be established to help him to do his job as a policeman better. I am glad that legislation to that effect is being introduced. I compliment the Minister on bringing it to this stage.

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