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

On the last point, as I outlined, gardaí absolutely will notify people but there may be circumstances where they cannot do so. If they are in a crowded area, for example, where a protest develops into a riot and one garda shouts to tell everybody about the camera, not everyone will hear that. It is just not possible to require that absolutely everybody be informed in that scenario. In an extreme situation such as a hostage scenario, gardaí will have no ability to tell everybody involved. In general, however, the intention is that people will be warned and given notice that the device is being turned on. This amendment would require everybody to be informed. If a situation escalates quickly and, where multiple people are present, it is simply not possible to notify everybody, there potentially is a problem. That is why I cannot accept the amendment. We are talking about legislating for a scenario in which it might not be possible for a garda to give everyone that notice.

Amendments Nos. 5, 6 and 9 relate to turning on or off the cameras. We are all in agreement that we are introducing significant new powers for An Garda Síochána, which means we must ensure strict rules and regulations are in place. As Senator Ward noted, the way to put in place those rules and regulations to which gardaí must adhere in turning on or off their cameras is by way of the codes of practice. At the moment, unfortunately, the situation is one-sided against gardaí in that they are generally the only parties not using a recording device in certain scenarios. This will level the playing field. As I said, the codes of conducts will not be agreed upon and introduced until there is consultation with all relevant stakeholders and an opportunity for the public to engage.