Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator. As we discussed on Committee Stage, I share a lot of the concerns the Senators have with regard to the potential use of facial recognition technology and artificial intelligence machine process learning capabilities to infringe civil rights and therefore have to be treated with the utmost caution in terms of how we apply and deploy that technology . While I understand that requirement, for a variety of different reasons which I will set out here I will not accept the two amendments. First, this is hugely complex issue and the setting of legislation in terms of how we define or regulate both artificial intelligence and facial recognition technology requires really detailed assessment. We need a principles-based approach and sometimes there may be conflicting principles between, let us say privacy and protection of our people. We need to have a clear assessment of what the technology is capable and incapable of. Included in that would be a detailed assessment of the accuracy of some of the technology or some of the biases it might bring into a policing system or any operation of the State before we come to decisions around how we might legislate for it. As I understand, we do not have legislative clarity around what facial recognition technology is and it is an evolving technology. We similarly await the completion of the European AI directive and the Senator is right that there are a lot of concerns within the European Parliament about this issue. That process is not concluded. My understanding is that it is to conclude this year. In advance of that, for us to try to second-guess where the EU AI directive will go would not be a good legislative approach. I believe the protections we have just put in with some of the amendments to make sure the GDPR, which we have in place, give us as much protection as we can seek from that.

As we discussed in the previous amendments, I refer to the ability and power of the Minister for Transport of the day to be able to regulate what devices, other technologies, or processing of information will be possible under this section. It is not my intention to issue regulations that would allow the facilitation of the use of facial recognition technology. I hope that gives further reassurance in that regard.

As for the powers in amendment No. 40 specifically, as those powers were just legislated for in the requirement of the Minister to set out regulations in how such data would be processed, I hope that addresses the requirement onto that legislation.

To summarise, there is concern and the need for caution around the use of facial recognition technology. Most people I talk to do not say "Never, ever" but there are such challenges, difficulties, and uncertainties regarding its use that we have to make sure that we do that, if we every do that, in a way that absolutely protects the civil rights of our people. I do not believe this legislation is the location where we set out that entire edifice of legal requirement. The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice chaired by Deputy Lawless has done some work on this. I think, from his public utterances, he is looking to come back to it and that committee is well-placed to assess the competing and conflicting principles and to get a deeper understanding of what the technology is and is not capable of. The protections we put in through the amendments we have just agreed provide, I hope, some reassurance we will not use this technology in this light. Therefore I cannot accept the amendments but I understand where they are coming from.