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

I am delighted to introduce the Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Bill 2022 to the House and I look forward to hearing contributions from Senators.

As Senators will be aware, this Bill is an important commitment in the programme for Government and in Justice Plan 2023. The Bill provides a legislative framework for the use of recording devices by Garda personnel and the processing of data gathered through that recording. In support of that legislative framework, statutory codes of practice will also provide further detail on the operation of Parts 2 to 6, inclusive, in this Bill.

Government strongly supports the recommendations of the report of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland, which recommended that An Garda Síochána should make digital transformation. Government has backed this digital transformation through investment in successive budgets in order to modernise the police service. It is necessary therefore that we give An Garda Síochána access to the latest technology in a society that is becoming increasingly more digitalised and where criminals have access to digital tools to carry out their crimes. An Garda Síochána cannot remain an analogue organisation in a digital age.

This Bill is an important contribution towards providing An Garda Síochána with cutting-edge digital tools and framework for their use that ensures the safety of Garda personnel, respect for the human rights of the general public and data protection throughout.

One of the main features of the Bill is the introduction of body-worn cameras, which have been long called for by the Garda Commissioner and the Garda representative bodies. We have all seen the reports of attacks on members of An Garda Síochána in the past year. I condemn these attacks on our front-line gardaí and I agree that this technology has the potential to deter such attacks or, where attacks occur, it can provide strong evidence to bring those culprits to justice.

Policing organisations around the world have found that body-worn cameras can help improve front-line capability with the accurate recording of incidents. For example, the first moments when a garda arrives on the scene of a domestic violence incident are so often crucial in protecting victims and ensuring that in the event of a prosecution, they can access justice.

Body-worn cameras will also speed up analysis, enhance situational awareness and protect our gardaí from harm. I welcome that the Garda have now published the requests for information, RFI, on body-worn cameras and digital evidence management systems on eTenders.iewebsite.The provisions in this legislation will enable members of An Garda Síochána to access the most up-to-date technology. The use of body-worn cameras, automatic number plate recognition, ANPR, and CCTV can play a key role in preventing and detecting serious crime and protecting the security of the State.

Before I move to the key provisions of the Bill, I will briefly mention facial recognition technology. There has been much debate on this topic over the past year. While the Bill will not contain provisions relating to facial recognition, as decided by the Government last July, I will be providing for this in a separate new Bill, the general scheme of which will be published later this year. This will only allow for retrospective use of facial recognition technology for the most serious of offences and will assist in the investigation of these crimes. As I mentioned, this will be used in the most serious of cases, such as threats to national security, homicide, rape and child sexual abuse. It will be an enormous help to the Garda in detecting and investigating serious crime. In cases where time is so often of the essence, gardaí need to be able to search for suspects and evidence quickly. There may be a suspect in a murder, a child who is missing or abducted, or a child subject to abuse. A number of safeguards around the use of facial recognition technology will of course be put in place. These will include, among other things, ensuring a code of practice for its use. This will be subject to approval by government and the Houses of the Oireachtas.

Turning to the Bill, Part 1 sets out the Short Title, the commencement provisions and key definitions of the Bill, including that of a recording device, which is intentionally device neutral in order to future-proof the Bill, and includes devices capable of recording or processing records.

Part 2 deals with the use of recording devices generally by An Garda Síochána in public places, or places where it is invited or permitted to be, and in private dwellings in certain circumstances. Since the definition of a recording device is broad, this would allow, among other devices, for recording from body-worn cameras, cameras, smartphones, tablets, dashcams and camcorders. The use of recording devices on vehicles on aircraft, including unmanned aircraft, and on Garda dogs, is also catered for. Additional provisions concerning the operation of body-worn cameras are included. Where they are in use, there is a requirement for a visible indicator to show they have been switched on.

Part 3 provides for the extension of the circumstances in which automatic plate recognition may be used by An Garda Síochána. The Bill will designate certain bodies as relevant bodies which may transfer, on an ongoing basis, the ANPR records they create to An Garda Síochána. Three bodies will initially be designated: the Dublin Airport Authority, DAA, which includes Dublin and Cork; Dublin Port Company; and the National Roads Authority, which has a network of ANPR cameras along motorways in Ireland. This will give An Garda Síochána access to a range of ANPR cameras in strategic locations throughout the State. Other bodies that have a network of ANPR cameras can be designated at a later date if this is necessary.

The Bill provides that the ANPR can be used for the following purposes: the prevention, investigation, detection or prosecution of criminal offences; safeguarding against and the prevention of threats to public security, which includes securing public safety and public order; and the protection of the security of the State. The use of ANPR for focused monitoring of a vehicle is provided for. This will allow An Garda Síochána to monitor a vehicle where it passes an ANPR-enabled camera, but any such monitoring must be justified and approved by a superintendent or higher. Any continued focused monitoring beyond three months will have to be authorised by a judge of the District Court. In order for this to be granted, the vehicle in question must be related to an investigation into an arrestable offence, which is an offence with a penalty of five years or more, or that the vehicle is relevant to an investigation relating to national security. Retrospective searches of ANPR data will also be permitted for specific purposes and can be approved by a garda at the rank of sergeant or higher. The value of this provision is clear when one considers the frequent need for gardaí to try to trace the movement of suspected criminals in order to progress an investigation.

Part 4 provides for a matter not addressed in the general scheme. It delivers on an outstanding recommendation of the Fennelly commission of investigation, which expressed concern over the legal basis for recording of emergency and non-emergency lines by An Garda Síochána.

Part 5 replaces the revoked and repealed CCTV provisions in section 38 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005 and the associated CCTV order. Under the new authorisation process, community groups will no longer be able to install or operate CCTV as they have perhaps done in the past. However, the Bill ensures that transitional arrangements will be in place for existing Garda or community CCTV. The CCTV schemes authorised may only be granted to Garda personnel or local authorities. That is not to say community groups can no longer continue to have a role. It is a priority for me that they should be involved in this process. Any future amendments or additions to a CCTV scheme, for example, where a new camera is added with greater functionality, would have to be notified to the Garda Commissioner, who would then determine whether a new authorisation is needed. Senators will be aware of the concerns that were raised by the Data Protection Commissioner about the current arrangements for CCTV schemes and those that are authorised. It has been established in inquiries conducted by the Data Protection Commission, DPC, that authorisations issued many years ago were being relied upon for the installation of additional cameras. It is important for data protection purposes that we ensure that the appropriate due diligence is completed before additions or amendments are made to CCTV schemes. As is the case for all the parts of the Bill, the DPC has been consulted at length on the new arrangements proposed under this Bill. Most importantly, what this means is that communities can move forward in expanding on or adding to current CCTV that is in place or in putting in place CCTV that they have not been able to progress because of this DPC issue.

Part 6 will give power to the Garda Síochána to process live feeds of third-party CCTV. Judicial authorisation is required for such access or, where the access is required for less than 72 hours, internal approval from a superintendent or higher-ranked officer may be sought. Similar to Part 3 of the Bill, the processing of live feeds of third-party CCTV can only be used to prevent, investigate, detect or prosecute criminal offences, to safeguard against and prevent threats to public security or to protect the security of the State. This is not to say that the provisions of this part will prevent An Garda Síochána from viewing third-party CCTV where the third party themselves freely allow it to do so. The Data Protection Act allows a third party to share data with An Garda Síochána where it is for law enforcement purposes.

As with Part 4, Part 7 also deals with the matter not included in the general scheme. It provides for the Garda Commissioner to authorise the installation and operation of CCTV on Garda premises. This includes temporary premises for the safeguarding of people or property and, again, for preventing, investigating, detecting or prosecuting criminal offences. This includes private areas of Garda premises and temporary structures and places the use of CCTV in Garda stations on a clear statutory footing.

Part 8 sets out that codes of practice will need to be drafted by the Garda Commissioner for Parts 2 to 6, inclusive, of the Bill, which must be approved by ministerial order. In the interests of transparency, the draft codes will be made publicly available by the Garda Commissioner in order that representations can be made. There will be numerous bodies, including the Data Protection Commission, that the Garda Commissioner will be required to consult during this drafting and the final text or codes will then be published. These codes will outline requirements with regard to storage, access, retention periods, deletion and data subject rights and will follow international best practice.

Finally, Part 9 contains a number of miscellaneous provisions. I mentioned on Committee Stage in the Dáil that I intend to introduce some technical amendments, primarily to ensure consistency and coherence to the processing and offences provisions in the Bill. These amendments are made on foot of legal advice from the Attorney General. Other minor drafting amendments will also be necessary.

In conclusion, this Bill will deliver on two important commitments in our programme for Government, first, to implement the recommendations of the report of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland, which called for the use of the body-worn cameras to enhance the front-line capability of An Garda Síochána and, second, to extend the powers governing Garda use of CCTV and automatic number plate recognition, also known as ANPR, to help prevent crime but also to prosecute those involved in criminal activity.

More generally, the Bill will provide An Garda Síochána with the tools and resources it feels are necessary to combat crime and protect the public in a digital age, while also ensuring there are appropriate safeguards in place for the use of such technology. The standards and procedures that An Garda Síochána must follow when using these technologies will be clearly set out in codes of practice and will be publicly available to each and every one of us. I thank Senators for their time and look forward to hearing their contributions. I commend this Bill to the House.