Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As the Deputy is aware, I am committed to ensuring An Garda Síochána has the resources, the equipment and the technology necessary to do its job in protecting people from harm and saving lives. As part of this commitment, I am working to ensure gardaí have body-worn cameras and to extend the powers governing An Garda Síochána's use of CCTV and automatic number plate recognition, ANPR. Such technology will enhance front-line policing capability and help to prevent crime and prosecute those involved in criminal activity. Body-worn cameras, in particular, will help to improve front-line capability with the accurate recording of incidents, expedite analysis, enhance situational awareness and protect police from harm. The Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Bill 2022 completed Committee Stage last week. When it is enacted, it will provide a legal basis for the deployment and use of body-worn cameras by An Garda Síochána.

I am also committed to introducing facial recognition technology, FRT, in a number of limited and defined circumstances, as a tool to search evidence in the most serious of cases. If we are providing An Garda Síochána with the ability, through CCTV, ANPR or body-worn cameras, to gather all of this data, we need to provide ways in which they can go through the data. Instead of a member of An Garda Síochána sitting for hundreds of hours looking at footage, which is what happens in certain cases, facial recognition or other types of AI could be used to identify in a matter of minutes a possible suspect or potentially to protect someone who is in a very vulnerable or difficult situation. As the Deputy will be aware, following consultation with Government colleagues, the use of FRT will now be provided for in separate legislation in the new Garda Síochána (digital management and facial recognition technology) Bill 2023. A number of safeguards will be included in that Bill. For example, a code of practice will be required, mass surveillance and profiling will be prohibited and the operation of the Bill will be kept under review by a High Court judge.

Essentially, this is about reducing the amount of time it takes for Garda members to go through video footage. This would be of particular benefit in serious cases like murder and child sexual abuse. In the case of child sexual abuse, the number of images that gardaí often have to deal with on devices makes it very difficult to deal with what might be real and new cases. This will help them in protecting people who are currently victims of child sexual abuse. This is something we need to progress as quickly as possible.

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