Derek McDowell (Labour)

I am sorry I let that out. There are not many implications for the infringing of civil liberties in the Garda having a person's photograph or not having it. The whole of continental Europe operates on the basis that citizens carry an ID card. One cannot board a Ryanair flight without producing one's photograph. The world has moved on in this context.

To address Senator Jim Walsh's point, in regard to forensic samples, fingerprints, photographs and DNA, in the context of the forthcoming legislation on a DNA database, we should conduct a fundamental philosophical audit on this issue and decide on which side of the line we stand. I am in favour of generalised retention of this material. The argument against the retention of this material is that the Garda would be tempted to arrest people to build up a photo library and that its members would bring people into stations on trumped up charges and take advantage of their detention to build up a photo library of everybody in the area.

If the Garda wants to take a photograph of any person who is suspected of being a big time "baddie" in society, it will be able to take the photograph on the street or in a pub and nobody can stop it from having that photograph. The question we must ask is whether any useful purpose is served by these destruction provisions. When the former Deputy Shatter introduced a Private Members' forensic evidence Bill, the question of destruction of forensic samples, DNA and the like arose. I do not see the argument for the destruction of such material. However, I can see the argument being made for it in the context of big brother knowing one's exact genome and using it for other ulterior motives such as deciding whether one is more prone to breast cancer or to developing this or that condition and discriminating against one in some shape or form. In the fight against crime, I do not see how the retention of any person's DNA is an infringement on his or her personal liberty.

If I went to a Garda station, was detained there for 12 hours and drank a tumbler of water, a clever garda would be able to extract my DNA from both my fingerprint and my mouth mark on that tumbler. Regardless of whether the Garda do that or make a record of my DNA profile does not affect my privacy or liberty. This is an issue we must face up to on another occasion.