Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Ba mhaith linn tréaslú leis an Aire as ucht an reachtaíocht seo a thabhairt chun cinn. Sinn Féin welcomes this legislation, although we raised a number of concerns on Second Stage and Committee Stage.

Those concerns remain and my party will keep an eye on how things pan out when the legislation is implemented.

Sinn Féin's main concern is to ensure that convictions are sound. With many convictions achieved primarily on the basis of confessions, the collection of DNA should ensure more sound convictions in future. We continue to be concerned about the possibility that the presumption of innocence will be eliminated. That scenario must not be allowed to arise. We are also concerned about the taking of samples such as mouth swabs or hair follicles from former offenders who are no longer the subject of a sentence. This is an issue we have raised in previous debates. In a general sense, however, Sinn Féin welcomes the Bill as a step forward. I congratulate the Minister on completing its Final Stage in the House.