The Greens will not support a renewed call from Justice Secretary Simon Harris to support legislation that would make it easier for Gardaí to use facial recognition technology (FRT).
On his last day at the Justice Department before Helen McEntee returned from maternity leave, the minister insisted FRT must be included in plans to allow Gardaí to use body cameras, reports RTE.
Secretary Harris believes Gardaí can no longer wait for this technology.
This afternoon, the Greens said they fully support the original legislation allowing Gardaí access to body cameras.
“However, the party is not supportive of Minister Harris’ proposal to amend the original bodycams bill in order to allow the use of a form of artificial intelligence known as facial recognition technology, which has proved controversial in other countries,” a Government spokesperson for the Green Party said, reports RTE.
They also said that the party is not ruling out introducing a limited form of the FRT, but that it should be introduced in an independent bill, which would then be considered by an Oireachtas committee.
“The committee would be able to invite experts in this complex area to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of FRT and its implications for both policing and privacy,” they said, reports RTE.
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