Irish politicians clash over regulation allowing police use of facial recognition

Work on drafting the legislation that would allow Irish police forces to use facial recognition is “well advanced,” according to Ireland’s government. But not everyone is happy about the speed of the introduction of the new law, with an opposition lawmaker that push to introduce the technology is without proper oversight.

The country is currently devising a draft of the General Scheme of the Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) (Amendment) Bill that allows retrospective use of biometric technologies in limited circumstances, Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan announced last week.

The current Bill excludes the use of live facial recognition. However, the government has committed to introducing live FRT in cases of terrorism, national security, and missing persons in a subsequent Bill, the Minister added.

The comments were delivered as an answer to parliamentary questions from the opposition Social Democrats. Following Minister O’Callaghan’s remarks, the Social Democrats Spokesperson on Justice Gary Gannon said that the government’s rush to introduce facial recognition was “deeply concerning.”

“This week’s comments from the Minister for Justice about the ‘well advanced’ work on introducing facial recognition technology are a glaring red flag,” says Gannon. “Once again, the government is plowing ahead with a highly sensitive and potentially invasive technology without ensuring there are proper checks and balances in place.”

Previous governments have pushed for the bill to be passed more quickly in response to the 2023 Dublin riots.

The lawmaker also claims that the Justice Minister is keeping the public in the dark on how the technology would be used, governed and scrutinized, which could damage trust in both policing and the justice system.

“Misidentifications could have life-altering consequences, especially for already marginalized communities,” says Gannon.

These views are backed by organizations such as the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL), which warns that FRT could increase the likelihood of women and people of color being wrongfully misidentified, according to the Irish Times.

In a report published last year, the country’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) said that the regulation offers “little clarity as to what is intended” and that “significant work remains to be done in order to ensure that usage of FRT respects the requirements of data protection law.”

Justice Minister O’Callaghan has pledged that the technology will be used in “certain, very controlled circumstances” to process evidence in serious cases by the Irish police, known as An Garda Síochána.

“The Bill will provide for use of FRT, but that use will be subject to regular review and the results will require further examination by a specially trained member of Garda personnel,” says  O’Callaghan. “Garda use of this technology will also be subject to codes of practice which will set out the very high standards of data protection and human rights control required.”

However, it is still unclear whether these promises will be effective. The Irish parliament has been experiencing tensions between the country’s coalition government, led by Prime Minister Micheál Martin, and opposition parties.

A previous decision to introduce body-worn cameras for police officers has also caused controversy in the country. The deployment of the cameras began last year in May.

Article Topics

biometric identification  |  facial recognition  |  Ireland  |  legislation  |  police  |  regulation