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

In relation to body-worn cameras, the legislation was signed by the President on 5 December and the Garda will be rolling out proof of concept in three areas of the country. That will be followed by a pilot later in the year where we will then have the tender process. Technology is important for gardaí to protect themselves, record scenes accurately and, when at the scene of a crime, record what happens immediately afterwards. If they are in the midst of an incident such as the riots we saw two weeks ago, they would be able to accurately reflect through the cameras what is happening.

The facial recognition technology, FRT, legislation was approved to go to the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel for drafting today. It will go to the committee for pre-legislative scrutiny and we will make sure any legislation brought forward around FRT is compliant with human rights, data protection and privacy rights. Just as there will be pilots for the body-worn cameras, we need to make sure any application of FRT is done in such a way that we can see how effective it is and whether any changes need to be made. That would include a pilot scheme as well. All of this is moving. It is positive and shows how technology, when monitored and put in place effectively, can support gardaí in their work and make sure they are as effective as possible in responding to crime.

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