Results 6,601-6,620 of 15,389 for speaker:Helen McEntee

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (5 Jul 2023)

Helen McEntee: On using real-time recording.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (5 Jul 2023)

Helen McEntee: We have decided that this is not going to be applied for in the context of facial recognition. Obviously, there will be further discussion and debate but the heads of the Bill that will be drafted will be based on clearly prohibiting, as I said at the outset, mass surveillance and the use of live facial recognition and that it would only apply retrospectively, and only in instances of...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (5 Jul 2023)

Helen McEntee: Deputy Costello outlined the provisions setting out where the person can go. This applies to where the garda is with the piece of technology. If it is a body-worn camera, it is obviously worn by the garda who will need permission to go to a certain place. If it is worn by a dog or a member of the canine section of An Garda Síochána, the person will be with the dog. If it is a...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (5 Jul 2023)

Helen McEntee: Gardaí would be able to operate this in limited circumstances. We are not talking about flying drones indiscriminately over people's houses. This would be for a very specific circumstance and prior authorisation would be required from a senior member of An Garda Síochána. The code of practice would have to be adhered to and the drone would have to be operated by a trained...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (5 Jul 2023)

Helen McEntee: Yes, it is set out in Part 8. Section 43(3) states: (3) Before submitting a draft code of practice to the Minister under this section, the Commissioner of the Garda Síochána— (a) shall cause an assessment of the impact of the proposed draft code on the human rights of individuals affected by the code [ ... ] (b) shall consult with the following [ ... ] (i) the...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (5 Jul 2023)

Helen McEntee: As is the case with any specialist unit or team within An Garda Síochána, training is provided. As this is introduced, specialist training will be provided for people to be able to use this.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (5 Jul 2023)

Helen McEntee: It is about striking a balance. I fully appreciate people's privacy rights. It is vital that people's privacy is protected when they are at home and in their own environment. We always have to strike the right balance between ensuring the Garda has tools available to it, with proper oversight, codes of conduct and other mechanisms in place, and ensuring the Oireachtas and the various...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (5 Jul 2023)

Helen McEntee: It is very much an operational matter. I do not think we should put in legislation how or when training must happen. As far as I am concerned, it is a given that where new structures or requirements are in place, people are trained to operate those. It could be said that with CCTV, because there are so many hours of footage, many people are required to trawl though all that. That is why...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (5 Jul 2023)

Helen McEntee: I refer to our previous conversation where the Garda Commissioner publishes the draft codes of practice on the website. That is obviously to allow for the period of consultation. While it does not say public consultation, the intention is this allows for engagement with the Policing Authority, the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, GSOC, the Data Protection Commission, DPC, the...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (5 Jul 2023)

Helen McEntee: It would absolutely have to happen. It is the case the Commissioner would have to engage in this process and would have to do so by law. What would be useful, and I think we have seen that with other legislation we have passed afterward without expressly stating it, is that there be information campaigns so we work on making people aware of what the law now is, be it through adverts or...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (5 Jul 2023)

Helen McEntee: The piece I outlined before is where it is actually written down. It is not that it is not there and is implied. It is outlined in section 43(3) that "Before submitting a draft code of practice to the Minister under this section, the Commissioner of the Garda Síochána ... shall ...". The following paragraphs then outline all the people the Commissioner must engage with. Thus,...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (5 Jul 2023)

Helen McEntee: The reason for the previous need to make amendments is because we do not have it physically written in each section, so we are simply amending it to ensure the focus on the processing of data is physically written in each section. In this case, it is physically written rather than implied. These are all the things the Commissioner will have to do before he or she can publish and make...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (5 Jul 2023)

Helen McEntee: It states "shall". Therefore, because it uses the word "shall", it means that he has to. The word "shall" implies that this has to happen.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (5 Jul 2023)

Helen McEntee: It states that it "shall ensure that the draft code of practice is published on the website of the Garda Síochána in order to allow persons a period that he or she shall specify to make...". The term "persons" relates to everybody.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (5 Jul 2023)

Helen McEntee: It is in section 43(3)(d). It states "shall ensure" - it means it has to be done - "that the draft code of practice is published on the website of the Garda Síochána in order to allow persons a period that he or she shall specify to make written representations". That covers that. The term "persons" covers everybody or anybody. Obviously, the other provisions are more specific,...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (5 Jul 2023)

Helen McEntee: Once this legislation is passed, the code of conduct will have to be drawn up at that stage before anything can be used, and Deputies will appreciate many people would not have any interest in taking part. Therefore, it would be more likely that a person who is interested in taking part will be keeping an eye on when this will be published and when it is put on the website. It will then be...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (5 Jul 2023)

Helen McEntee: It is not in the legislation. What we have done more recently is that when legislation has been passed, we have engaged in various different campaigns, for example, the intimate images. The Coco's law campaign was hugely successful. It was after the passing of the Bill that we engaged to find out the best way for us to communicate with people. That has been hugely successful to date. ...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (5 Jul 2023)

Helen McEntee: I want to reassure Deputies that there will be absolutely no situation where the Garda Commissioner can introduce body-worn cameras or use any of the technology listed here without the codes of conduct. As the word "shall" is expressly stated in all of these, it means that there is no question that he or she must do all of this. The term "persons" was used to make sure nobody was left out....

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Question Heading for question(s) 140 (5 Jul 2023)

Helen McEntee: As the Deputy will be aware, I obtained an order of the High Court pursuant to section 3A of the Communications (Retention of Data) Act 2011 (as amended by the Communications (Retention of Data) (Amendment) Act 2022) on 26 June 2023. The order requires service providers to retain data in all of the categories specified in Schedule 2 of the 2011 Act for a period of 12 months from the date...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Visa Applications (5 Jul 2023)

Helen McEntee: The visa applications referred to by the Deputy were refused by the Visa Office in Manila on 20 April 2023. The reasons for this decision were set out in the refusal letter sent to the applicants at that time. An appeal of this decision was launched on 15 June 2023. Appeals for applications of this type are processed in the order in which they are received, to be fair to all applicants....