Green Party welcomes decision on facial recognition technology
The Green Party has warmly welcomed the Minister for Justice’s decision today (June 20) not to rush through a move to give the gardai access to facial recognition technology (FRT).
Minister Helen McEntee told the cabinet today that she would proceed with an existing bill giving gardai access to bodycams but would not include a controversial proposed amendment that would have also given gardai access to FRT.
The decision came after the Green Party had repeatedly voiced its opposition to any form of FRT by way of an amendment given the significant change that it would mean for policing in Ireland.
Instead, Minister McEntee will introduce a separate, standalone bill, that would allow gardai to use FRT to investigate only the most serious crimes and using footage that has already been recorded. Crucially, the bill will undergo extensive pre-legislative scrutiny by members of the Oireachtas Justice committee who will invite experts to discuss the proposal.
Green Party Justice spokesman, Patrick Costello TD said;
“The Green Party wants gardai to have access to cutting-edge technology in order to keep the public safe but we also want to make sure that any move to introduce a technology as powerful as facial recognition technology is done carefully and with advice from the top experts in this complex area.
“We are glad that Minister McEntee has listened to Green Party concerns that the introduction of FRT shouldn’t be rushed. A standalone bill will allow the Justice committee to analyse the proposal carefully to ensure we don’t make any mistakes that could undermine the public’s relationship with the gardaí.”
Green Party TD Marc Ó Cathasaigh said the proposed standalone bill would only allow for FRT to be used in very narrow circumstances, such as investigating serious crimes which are subject to a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. It will also prevent gardai from using FRT to analyse live footage of people going about their normal businesses.
“The Green Party has always been clear that mass surveillance by the police should never be allowed in Ireland. No-one’s identity should be analysed as they walk innocently through a crowd.
“The standalone legislation will result in one of the strictest uses of FRT in the world by ensuring that it is only used to analyse footage that already exists in order to help solve the most serious of crimes. This is an important balance that has been struck thanks to the Green Party.”
