Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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568. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the status of legislation to bring the use of CCTV for Garda investigations into GDPR compliance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7569/22]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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In April 2021, I secured government agreement to publish the General Scheme of the Garda Síochána (Digital recording) Bill 2021. The Bill has three key purposes:

- To provide a legal basis for the deployment and use of body-worn cameras by An Garda Síochána.

- To provide for the extension of the circumstances in which CCTV may be authorised, taking account of GDPR and the Law Enforcement Directive.

- To provide an updated legal basis for the deployment of Automatic Number Plate Recognition technology by An Garda Síochána.

My Department engaged extensively with An Garda Síochána, Garda oversight bodies and strategic partners during the preparation of the General Scheme, as well as the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission and the Irish Council for Civil Liberties.

Following government approval, the General Scheme was sent to the Office of Parliamentary Counsel for formal drafting, and drafting is continuing. The General Scheme was also submitted to the Oireachtas Committee on Justice for pre-legislative scrutiny. The Committee’s report was received in December 2021 and is currently being examined by officials in my Department.

This legislation is a significant priority and I and my Department are working intensively with the Attorney General to ensure that the Bill can be published by the end of March. I hope that it will then complete its passage through the Oireachtas as soon as possible, hopefully later this year.

I should point out that while this will not be an excessively long Bill, I am aware that the issues it addresses, such as privacy rights and data protection, are complex. All uses of recording devices under the legislation are linked to Garda functions, namely the investigation, detection, prevention and prosecution of criminal offences, public order and public safety, and safeguarding the security of the State.

While Gardaí have extensive common law powers at their disposal when carrying out their functions, it is important to have in place a modern and robust statutory framework to set standards and procedures in relation to the use of recording devices and to provide appropriate oversight of the use of the powers, in particular where they could infringe on the privacy or data protection rights of citizens.

The digital recording technology for policing purposes continues to evolve at pace and it is vital that the law supports the Gardaí to respond dynamically to this and be in a position to make the best use of emerging technology. Nevertheless it is also my intention to build in a number of safeguards to the legislation in order to maintain public trust in policing and to make clear that any intrusions into a citizen's private life are only where necessary and proportionate and for justifiable policing purposes.