Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael)
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15. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality for an update on the progress of body-worn cameras for gardaí, and related pilot schemes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37608/24]

Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael)
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I wish to ask a question regarding the pilot scheme for body-worn cameras for members of An Garda Síochána who are policing our streets. As has been said many times, they are the only group of individuals at events, protests, etc., in the city centre and other places who are not filming. I ask the Minister to update the House, please.

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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It has always been my view that members of An Garda Síochána should have access to and be wearing body-worn cameras for two very clear reasons. First, I believe it helps in keeping them safe. As the Deputy rightly said, it is important they have that ability to capture an incident as it occurs and have a real picture as to what happened as opposed to an edited or potentially changed version of it. It is also important for gathering evidence and making sure gardaí have the ability to capture evidence and then have access to that evidence in real time and in quick fashion in order that they can then provide it to the courts and provide for quicker prosecutions.

It has been my objective to enact the digital recording legislation, which was passed, thankfully, last Christmas and then roll out the pilot programmes as quickly as possible. The pilot programmes are necessary because three different types of technology are being used across three different areas in Dublin city centre, Limerick and most recently Waterford. What that has done in the short space of time they have been rolled out is give gardaí the ability to understand how the different technologies work and ask what is most effective and then, at the end of the day, choose which one of the body cameras they will use.

The feedback from gardaí already has been really positive. I have spoken to individual members who said they have been in situations where they felt ordinarily things would have escalated and there perhaps would have been violence. Those situations have been de-escalated and they have felt safer. There have been situations where there have been large crowds. In fact, at football matches, the gardaí felt the crowd and overall demeanour changed so much, to the point there was a chant about the body cameras. People are very conscious that they are there and, obviously, that has an impact. On gathering evidence, I saw first-hand footage where people were approached during road traffic incidents and immediately upon seeing the body camera being turned on admitted to what they had done. That obviously took away a huge amount of time that would have been taken up by the gardaí. I am pleased to say that we had the first conviction in the past few weeks where a member had been verbally assaulted for quite a period of time and when that evidence was shown in the courts, the person received a custodial sentence.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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I thank the Minister. She can pick it up in her next response.

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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It is so important that the pilot is finished and these are rolled out right across the country for all the reasons I have acknowledged.

Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael)
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That is very positive to hear. I am sure my colleagues and I, particularly those of us on the justice committee, will be very pleased to hear that this investment has been so effective, even during the relatively short period in which these trials have been taking place. There is no doubt about the arsenal of options that members of An Garda Síochána should and do have as a result of the unprecedented levels of investment, which the Minister of State, Deputy Browne, outlined in a prior reply to my colleague from County Carlow. It is so important that we give gardaí more resources and capacity to do their jobs in the most effective ways possible, and one of those attributes and resources is, of course, cameras.

How quickly does the Minister think the assessment will be completed on the three different pieces of technology that are being used across the three areas? When will the preferred device be used and rolled out nationwide? Can the Minister outline if she has a budget in mind for such a nationwide roll-out?

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The Garda hopes to have that analysis done by the end of the year and then, obviously, it will look to what will be needed beyond that. The new digital evidence management system has to be developed to be able to back up all of this information. It is a huge amount. We have a budget of €155 million for ICT alone this year. That is assisting in the development and roll-out of the body cameras we have, but also other technology. Every Garda member on the beat has a hand-held device that is very like a phone. It is, in essence, like a mobile computer that allows them to access PULSE to provide or input information. It also links up with the body cameras. There will be a budget for next year to make sure these can be rolled out.

Very much linked with that is the facial recognition technology Bill, which I will be publishing in the coming weeks. It is really important that when gardaí have these body cameras, they have the ability to use AI, obviously in the specific circumstances we have outlined but also including public order, drug-related offences and other serious types of crimes. They will then have the technology synched with the facial recognition technology Bill. That work will continue next year and whatever investment and resources are required for that will be provided.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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I am keeping the Minister to the time to get people in. I call Deputy Farrell.

Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael)
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I do not really have anything to add other than that I very much welcome the opportunity to assist the Minister and An Garda Síochána in ensuring this matter receives the right attention and that this trial scheme that has been established is a success. The Minister might clarify in her final reply as to whether there have been any instances of failures across the three divisions with the technology that is presently being used or whether that kind of granular detail is available at this point. Could she outline how many cameras are actually in circulation? That might be informative to the House.

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I believe these will be a game-changer. In the short space of time in which we have seen them rolled out, the positive feedback has been exceptional. I have had no negative feedback. There have been no incidences that I have been told about or made aware of where cameras have not worked or have been defective. They are very different, however. Some of them can actually show the picture and the person can see themselves in it while others do not have that visibility and they use different technology. Obviously, the proof of concept has been hugely successful in helping to identify what will work and what will not.

On the overall figures, in the last station I visited in Waterford, 700 people had been trained up in that instance and it is similar across the other three areas. Obviously, we want perhaps not all 14,000 members but certainly those who are out on the beat wearing them. Deputies will probably have seen members even here in the Oireachtas with body cameras in the last week alone. People talk about wanting visibility. It is comforting for members of the public, retailers and people who are going about their daily lives to see these body cameras because they know the gardaí now have an accurate reflection of what is happening if an incident were to arise.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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We are almost out of time. Deputy Donnelly might put his question; he will not get in a second time.