Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Act 2023

• Permanent Page URL

PART 8

Codes of Practice for Parts 2 to 6

Codes of practice for Parts 2 to 6

47. (1) Subject to this section, the Commissioner of the Garda Síochána shall, having had regard to the matters contained in Parts 2 to 6 , as the case may be—

(a) prepare one or more draft codes of practice, to provide further detail on the operation of those Parts and any associated procedures and, where applicable, on the content of agreements to which those Parts refer, and

(b) submit each draft code of practice (amended, where applicable, in accordance with subsection (3)) to the Minister.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), a draft code or codes of practice referred to in subsection (1) shall include provisions—

(a) relating to the procedures to be followed by members of Garda personnel in the operation of Parts 2 to 6 ,

(b) relating to the confidentiality, security, storage, access, retention, erasure and destruction of data gathered as a result of the operation of Parts 2 to 6 , and

(c) relating to those sections of this Act that provide that a matter is to be specified, or otherwise contained in, or to be the subject of, a code of practice,

and the draft code or codes of practice may contain different provisions in relation to each Part, in relation to different types of recording devices or systems, in relation to different categories of persons or data and in relation to the circumstances in which such recording devices or systems are operated.

(3) Before submitting a draft code of practice to the Minister under this section, the Commissioner of the Garda Síochána—

(a) shall cause an assessment of the impact of the proposed draft code on the human rights of individuals affected by the code to be carried out,

(b) shall consult with the following regarding the content of the draft code and, where an assessment under paragraph (a) has been carried out, provide them with the results of the assessment and the results of any applicable data protection impact assessment:

(i) the Minister;

(ii) the Policing Authority;

(iii) the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission;

(iv) the Garda Síochána Inspectorate;

(v) the Data Protection Commission;

(vi) the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission,

(c) may, where appropriate, consult with the Local Government Management Agency,

(d) shall ensure that the draft code of practice is published on the website of the Garda Síochána in order to allow persons a period that he or she shall specify to make written representations in relation to the draft code, and

(e) may consult with any other person appearing to the Commissioner of the Garda Síochána to have an interest in the matter,

and the Commissioner of the Garda Síochána may, if he or she considers it appropriate to do so, amend the draft code of practice as a result of the assessment (where applicable), consultations or representations referred to in paragraphs (a) to (e).

(4) Where a draft code of practice is submitted to the Minister under subsection (1) or subsection (7)—

(a) the Minister may by order declare that it is a code of practice for the purposes of this Act,

(b) an order under this subsection shall set out the text of the code of practice to which the order relates, and

(c) the code of practice shall come into operation on the date specified in the order.

(5) The Commissioner of the Garda Síochána shall ensure that—

(a) a code of practice to which an order under subsection (4) relates is first reviewed not later than 5 years from the date of the order, or in the case of a subsequent review, not later than 5 years from the date of the previous review under this subsection,

(b) in conducting a review under this subsection, the provisions of subsection (3) shall be complied with in respect of the review, and

(c) the Minister is informed of the outcome of the review.

(6) The Commissioner of the Garda Síochána, on foot of a review of a code of practice under subsection (5) or at any other time that he or she considers appropriate, may, on or after the date of the coming into operation of this section, submit a further draft code of practice to the Minister in order to amend, revoke or replace an existing code of practice, or to create a new code of practice.

(7) The provisions of this section shall apply to or in relation to a draft code of practice submitted to the Minister under subsection (6) as they apply to a draft code of practice submitted to the Minister under subsection (1).

(8) The Commissioner of the Garda Síochána shall take all reasonable steps to ensure that any code of practice or amendment thereto that is the subject of an order under this section has been brought to the attention of members of Garda personnel.