Call for safeguards in DNA database Bill

THE IRISH Human Rights Commission (IHRC) has called for the inclusion of more safeguards in the Bill allowing the establishment of a DNA database for use in criminal investigations.

The IHRC said it was essential to ensure that the Bill did not give rise to human rights violations.

The draft legislation proposes the taking of bodily samples from people suspected of committing a serious offence, as well as from those who are in prison or who have previously been imprisoned for having committed serious offences. Members of the public may also be asked to give bodily samples as “volunteers” or as part of a mass screening.

The IHRC said it acknowledged the potential of a DNA database as a tool for investigating crimes, but it called for stronger human rights protection for people who would be affected by its provisions.

IHRC president Dr Maurice Manning said the Bill had implications for protecting human rights standards, in particular the right to privacy. “The guarantee of a person’s right to privacy is fundamentally affected by the taking, retention and storage of their DNA profile on a database,” he said.

“It is vitally important that this legislation is underpinned by rigorous safeguards governing the taking, retention, storage and destruction of bodily samples and DNA profiles. The scope of the DNA database system must be limited to the primary purpose of crime investigation.”