Paul Kehoe has dismissed suggestions that Fine Gael faced losing up to 25 TDs over the abortion bill and has criticised the repetition by TDs during the debate on the Protection of Life during Pregnancy Bill.
The President has not yet made an announcement on whether he’ll sign the the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill into law or refer it to the Supreme Court.
The Council of State is a little-used and largely unknown body but it takes centre stage as it discusses the abortion bill next week. TheJournal.ie explains what it’s all about…
The recent late-night sitting of the Dáil to discuss the abortion bill and the infamous lapgate incident has reignited debate about the appropriateness of bar opening hours in Leinster House.
Áras an Uachtaráin has said that a meeting will be held next Monday where members of the Council and the President will consider the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013.
While the passing of abortion legislation has been widely welcomed, the Pro-Choice lobby has raised concerns about the scope and implementation of the bill.
The majority of the 984 respondents said they were ‘very unlikely’ or ‘unlikely’ to support abortion if it was clearly shown it is not a suitable treatment for a pregnant woman with suicidal feelings.
A group of independent TDs introduced a bill to legislate for abortion in Ireland this week but the government will likely reject it before introducing its own legislation.
GARDAÍ ARE SET to be granted new powers to use facial-recognition technology that could lead to the rapid identification of criminals.
The technology enables police forces to carry out automated searches of video footage for suspects in criminal investigations.
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Minister for Justice Helen McEntee is expected to announce the move at the Garda Representative Association annual conference today.
The minister will say the introduction of facial-recognition technology will greatly assist murder, child exploitation and missing persons investigations.
The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) said it is “strongly opposed” to the technology being used by law enforcement, saying An Garda Síochána has a “poor record on data protection”.
“FRT [facial-recognition technology] and other biometric surveillance tools enable mass surveillance and discriminatory targeted surveillance
“They have the capacity to identify and track people everywhere they go, undermining the right to privacy and data protection, the right to free assembly and association, and the right to equality and non-discrimination,” the ICCL said.
So, today we’re asking: How do you feel about gardaí using facial recognition technology to identify suspects?
Poll Results:
I fully support it (4635)
I have some concerns, but am broadly in favour (2801)
Breezy this morning with a few showers
Max: 17 °C
Min: 10 °C
Clouds and sunshine
Max: 17 °C
Min: 7 °C
