The Attorney General last night welcomed the publication of the Law Reform Commission report on a DNA database.
However, he indicated that the Government would introduce a less restricted kind of DNA database than that recommended by the commission when it comes to legislate.
Launching the LRC's report yesterday, Rory Brady SC said that it provided the basis for an informed debate by the Oireachtas.
However, referring to the commission's recommendation that samples from unconvicted persons be destroyed within 12 months, he said: "The pre- eminent value is the State's duty of effective law enforcement".
He pointed to UK case law which held that the retention of fingerprints, DNA samples and DNA profiles did not contravene the right to privacy under the European Convention on Human Rights, and stressed that a DNA sample is not for general publication.
"Once the improper use of the DNA sample is precluded, is there any real justification for limits on the categories and the duration of the preservation of DNA samples and profiles?" he asked.
He pointed out that a significant number of matches were found in other jurisdictions for samples held for longer than 12 months. Had they not been retained, these crimes would not have been solved, he said.
The Fine Gael spokesman on justice, Jim O'Keeffe, has welcomed the LRC report, and called for the Minister for Justice to set a timetable for the introduction of a DNA database.
"Countless unsolved crimes are likely to benefit from the assistance of a DNA database, and it should have been set up years ago," he said.
"Half of all detections in Wales now involve DNA evidence. One can only speculate on how many crimes committed in Ireland would already have been solved if the Government had acted more speedily," Mr O'Keeffe added.
He added that DNA technology would hopefully lead to further developments in tragically unsolved cases, such as the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier.
"The fact that Ireland is one of a handful of EU countries without a DNA database makes it all the more urgent for Mr McDowell to take action," he said.