Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this crucial Bill and I unreservedly support its progress on Second Stage. Regrettably, already this year, we have seen a number of serious assaults on gardaí. An officer was assaulted at an anti-asylum seeker protest in County Cork on 19 January. A traffic garda had part of his finger bitten off in a vicious attack in Ballymun on Friday, 20 January. Let us not forget the arson attacks on the homes of a Dundalk garda in recent years, which was the third attack on a Garda home in and around Dundalk in 18 months. This is on top of the murder of Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe and the tragic killing of Garda Tony Golden.

While all gardaí accept policing has its risks, there can never be any excuse for these disgraceful attacks. There were 144 attacks on gardaí in 2012. Last year, there were 241 attacks and, yet, basic measures such as body cameras are being stalled and are not due to be rolled out until 2024. Providing digital technology, including body cameras, dashcams and drones, to gardaí will help the prosecution of people who have committed crimes, as well as giving gardaí an additional tool to boost their personal safety.

The main purpose of the Bill is to provide a robust statutory framework for the use of digital recording devices to support their key functions, such as the investigation, detection, prevention and prosecution of criminal offences; safeguarding against and preventing threats to public safety and public order, and in matters relating to the security of the State. This includes the use of automatic number plate recognition, ANPR, CCTV and body-worn cameras as recommended in the report of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland.

I will raise a number of items specifically relating the Bill. First and foremost, the use of such technology is controversial and has been opposed by the ICCL, which feels that digital recording and surveillance tools will impact people's rights to privacy; protection of personal data; freedom of expression; non-discrimination; protest and association. However, police in the UK have had body cameras for ten years. Any concerns being expressed about civil liberties have been addressed by other European nations.

In addition, the Minister, Deputy McEntee, has ensured that safeguards contingent on the EU artificial intelligence Act, will be put in place on the use of the technology, subject to data protection rules. Once legislation is agreed, deployment of these devices, including related timelines, will be an operational matter for the Garda Commissioner.

Body cameras need to be piloted and training organised, but where is the plan? Will training be online or in person, or will it be hands-on? The unprecedented €2.14 billion allocated to An Garda Síochána under budget 2023 includes the provision of €3 million for preparatory work to support the introduction of body-worn cameras, along with €6 million for new ballistic vests to protect front-line gardaí. However, the problem is there is no specific timeframe. There is no prioritisation of the implementation.

Second, the Bill will repeal and replace the CCTV provisions in section 38 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005. It will set out how CCTV schemes should be managed to reflect changes in the law on foot of the introduction of the data protection regulation and the law enforcement directive. I welcome this, as it provides clarity on the roles and responsibilities of both An Garda Síochána and local authorities in CCTV schemes. The Bill will also provide a statutory basis for the recording of 999 calls, which are transferred to the Garda, and for the recording of other emergency and non-emergency lines or numbers that will be specified in and governed by a code of practice.

Third, the Bill provides a statutory basis for the expanded use of automatic number plate recognition technology. This will facilitate other bodies that have networks of ANPR cameras to transfer their ANPR records to An Garda Síochána. This provision allows access to live feeds and permits An Garda Síochána to approve access internally for a period of up to 72 hours. It also provides for access to data retained by third parties as a result of the operation of CCTV. This will help the prosecution of people who have committed crimes, as well as give gardaí an additional tool to prohibit the kind of aggression and violence that some officers have experienced in recent months.

In addition, I welcome the provision within the Bill for the installation and operation of CCTV on Garda premises for the purpose of safeguarding persons or property and for the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of offences. The powers in this Bill must be subject to sufficient controls and oversight to ensure their use is necessary an proportionate at all times, as there are potential implications for the right to privacy and the data protection rights of individuals.

Overall, the Garda ethos is based not on force of arms but on its relationship with the community.

That ethos has served us well but we need to keep our gardaí safe. The Bill needs to be enacted before the body cameras can be deployed. I hope they will be brought into operation as quickly as possible. Attacks on gardaí injure not just the victims themselves but communities as a whole.

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