The Labour chairman has been assured his position is safe following a meeting of the party’s executive board in Dublin today in the wake of his vote against the Budget last month.
Keaveney, who voted against the Budget, wants the issue of his chairmanship sorted as soon as possible amid rumblings that Labour wants to oust him but an April conference is unlikely.
Unlike 2011 this was not a year of any seismic shifts in Irish politics but there were plenty of stand-out moments which will have repercussions going into next year and most of them involved one man…
The bill passed in the upper house this evening with Labour’s James Heffernan confirming his vote against the law and losing the party whip. Only businessman Feargal Quinn voted with the coalition.
Budget 2013 is less than a week old but already thoughts are turning to Budget 2014 and the possibility it could be held earlier than December next year.
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 (5143)
I have some concerns, but am broadly in favour (3066)
Breezy this morning with a few showers
Max: 17 °C
Min: 10 °C
Clouds and sunshine
Max: 17 °C
Min: 7 °C
