Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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1285. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if a company (details supplied) has been used or is being used by her Department or any other agencies under her remit, including An Garda Síochána, including on a free trial basis, in view of the fact that a media report has indicated An Garda Síochána has used the company, and in view of the fact that there are serious data protection privacy concerns with the use of same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28946/22]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I have requested the information sought from the bodies under the aegis of my Department and will write to the Deputy directly when the information is to hand.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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1286. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the details of the database of images upon which An Garda Síochána will use facial recognition technology to identify a person of interest; the origin of the database; the way that the images will be collected and stored; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28947/22]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Justice Plan 2022 commits to the publication of the Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Bill, previously called the Garda Síochána (Digital Recordings) Bill. This important legislation will make provision for Garda powers to use modern digital technology including body worn cameras, Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) and CCTV.

As the Deputy may be aware, it is my intention to seek Cabinet approval to include measures to permit the use of facial recognition technology as Committee Stage amendments to the Bill. An Garda Síochána have made a compelling case to me for the introduction of new technologies to assist them in their work and for more effective investigation and detection of crime. Operational details in relation to the technology to be used will be finalised in due course. Officials are still consulting various interested parties and will commence the process of detailed drafting of the amendments very soon.

These provisions would be particularly important in the context of child abduction or murder, where speed is of the essence and can be the difference between loss of life, or not.

The amendments will set out precisely how the system will operate in practice. However, it is important to say that they will be subject to appropriate safeguards and oversight. Any provisions relating to processing, through the use of biometric identification systems, would be subject to strict oversight and controls. It is also important to say that this technology would only assist Gardaí in making decisions.  Automated decision making that can adversely affect a citizen’s rights will be prohibited. To not make these changes would leave the Gardaí continuing to manually sift through CCTV for thousands or tens of thousands of hours.

My Department will continue to work with the Office of the Attorney General to complete this work.