Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration (Deputy Jim O'Callaghan): I move: "That the Bill be read a Second Time." I am very pleased to introduce the Bill to the House. I look forward to hearing the contributions of colleagues.

As Deputies will be aware, back in 2023 the Houses enacted the Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Act. The Bill I am introducing today is an amendment to that legislation. The legislation the Houses enacted in 2023 constituted an important contribution to updating An Garda Síochána's technological capabilities by providing it with a statutory basis for the operation of recording devices. The type of recording devices that An Garda Síochána can use pursuant to the 2023 legislation are body-worn cameras, which have been of great assistance in public policing and automatic number plate recognition, ANPR. The 2023 legislation also sets out how CCTV footage is to be utilised by An Garda Síochána.

The Bill will build on that body of work by providing gardaí with the ability to utilise biometric analysis, a tool that will allow An Garda Síochána to further upgrade its investigative tools for the digital age. This is generally referred to as facial recognition technology, FRT, but there is of course much more to biometric analysis than merely facial recognition. Biometric analysis covers an assessment of the physical, behavioural or physiological characteristics of an individual. In terms of the legislation that I am seeking to introduce for the benefit of An Garda Síochána, it will however predominantly centre on face, gait or other elements such as the build of an individual for the purpose of analysing persons who are on video footage....

Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú: ...I rarely do not bring up that wider issue when I am dealing with justice. I have had the conversation with the Minister before that we are in a very different world and that there are huge risks. It does not matter what committee I am on, whether it is the Joint Committee on Children and Equality dealing directly with the Garda, the Joint Committee on Disability Matters or the Joint Committee on Drugs Use, which Deputy Gannon chairs. The fact is that the only thing people talk about when they are talking about best practice are resources and funding, but they particularly talk about inter-agency action....

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