Irish Council for Civil Liberties (Irish Council for Civil Liberties)

Lobbying Organisation Irish Council for Civil Liberties

Date published 21 Sep, 2026

Relevant Matter Legislation

Public Policy Area Justice and Equality

Period 1 May. 2026 to 31 Aug. 2026

Specific Details Concerns re: the Garda Siochana (Recording Devices) Amendment Bill

Intended results To communicate ICCL's concerns on how the bill presents a serious risk for people’s fundamental rights by narrowing restrictions on biometric processing and failing to ensure adequate safeguards or judicial oversight.

Name of person primarily responsible for lobbying on this activity Olga Cronin

Did any Designated Public Official(DPO) or former Designated Public Official(DPO) carry out lobbying activities on your behalf in relation to this return? You must include yourself, and answer Yes, if you are a current DPO or a DPO at any time in the past. (What is a Designated Public Official?) No

Did you manage or direct a grassroots campaign? No

Was this lobbying done on behalf of a client? No

Lobbying activity

The following activities occurred for this specific Subject Matter Area.

Phone call (1)

I spoke with Senator Lynn Ruane's office (Robbie) on the phone on June 5 about the Garda Siochana (Recording Devices) Amendment bill ahead of a tabled Seanead discussion.

Letter (1)

Sent follow up letter to Senator Ruane's office that was previously sent to the AI Advisory Council on May 29 re: ICCL concerns on how the "biometric analysis" definition that does not appear in the AI Act encompasses both "biometric identification" and "biometric categorisation" as per the AI Act.

Email (2-5)

Email to Dept of Justice on 1 May to acknowledge receipt of a query sent in March 2026. email to Sen. Higgins on 23 June to share analysis of bill jointly written by ICCL and Dr Róisín Á Costello, School of Law, TCD. email to Minister about the the bill on July 9, copying Dr Des Hogan, Dale Sunderland, and Niamh Sweeney, in the Data Protection Commission and Liam Herrick, IHREC. Emailed Dr. Nessa Lynch of the Policing Community and Safety Authority, copy of letter sent to Minister.

Designated public officials lobbied

The following DPOs were lobbied during this return period on this specific Subject Matter Area. These DPOs were involved in at least one of the Lobbying Activities listed above, but not necessarily all of them. As returns are specific to a Subject Matter Area the above Lobbying Activities may be associated with multiple returns.

Lynn Ruane Senator (Seanad)

Alice-Mary Higgins Senator (Seanad)

Jim O'Callaghan Minister (Department of Justice)

Dr. Des Hogan Data Protection Commissioner (Data Protection Commission)

Dale Sunderland Data Protection Commissioner (Data Protection Commission)