Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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Question 111: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will bring forward legislation dealing with privacy issues arising from the development of and widescale use of closed circuit television and other monitoring equipment at inappropriate locations such as toilet and changing room facilities; if he recognises the dangers of allowing such equipment to be used by private individuals in an unmonitored and unregulated fashion; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36319/06]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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The Privacy Bill which was published on 4 July 2006 creates an offence to be known as the tort of invasion of privacy, for a person wilfully and without lawful authority to violate the privacy of another individual.

Where material obtained from closed circuit television or other monitoring equipment may be used in an inappropriate manner then the aggrieved person will have an accessible remedy in law.

The Privacy Bill contains a defence (in Section 5) in a privacy action for a defendant to prove that the act in respect of which a privacy action is being brought consisted of the installation or operation, in good faith, of a closed circuit television system or other surveillance system for a purpose authorised by law, or for the purpose of detecting or preventing the commission of an offence or the protection of persons or property.

The Data Protection Acts 1998 and 2003 apply to personal data recorded through the operation of the CCTV systems or other monitoring equipment.

With regard to the operation of CCTV systems in public places for the purposes of crime prevention by the Garda Síochána and community based groups, section 38 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005 provides a legislative basis for the operation of such CCTV systems. It does not apply to persons operating CCTV cameras on their premises for the purposes of protecting persons or property on the premises or environs.

In the context of the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2006 in respect of which the Government gave approval to draft a general scheme in July of this year, I am considering the possible extension of the definition of harassment as set out in section 10 of the Non Fatal Offences Against the Person Act, 1997 to include a new offence, on the basis of the evidence found, of video recording or photographing of persons without their knowledge in any place that a person could reasonably expect privacy.