Criminal Justice (Forensic Evidence and DNA Database System) Act 2014
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Functions of Committee | ||
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72. (1) The Committee shall oversee the management and operation of the DNA Database System for the purposes of maintaining the integrity and security of the System and shall, for those purposes, satisfy itself that the provisions of this Act in relation to the System are being complied with. | ||
(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), the Committee shall oversee— | ||
(a) the arrangements employed by the Director of FSI in relation to the receipt, handling, transmission and storage of samples taken under this Act for the purpose of generating DNA profiles for entry in the DNA Database System, | ||
(b) the procedures employed by the Director of FSI in relation to the generation of DNA profiles from the samples taken under this Act, and the quality control and quality assurance of those procedures, to ensure that they comply with international best practice, | ||
(c) the measures employed by the Director of FSI to ensure that the DNA Database System is not improperly accessed by any person, that the DNA profiles and information entered in the System are used only for the purposes permitted by this Act and that they are not improperly disclosed to any person, | ||
(d) the means by which the results of searches of the DNA Database System are reported by the Director of FSI to the Garda Síochána, the Ombudsman Commission or a coroner, as may be appropriate, | ||
(e) the practices and procedures employed by the Director of FSI to ensure that samples taken under this Act for the purpose of generating DNA profiles for entry in the DNA Database System are destroyed, and the DNA profiles generated from those samples are removed from that System, in accordance with Part 10, | ||
(f) the practices and procedures employed by the Director of FSI in the operation of Chapters 2 and 7 of Part 12, and | ||
(g) the practices and procedures employed by the Director of FSI in the operation of section 4 . | ||
(3) The Committee shall, in the performance of its functions under subsections (1) and (2), make such recommendations as it considers appropriate in relation to the management and operation of the DNA Database System to the Minister and the Director of FSI, as may be appropriate. | ||
(4) The Committee may, and if so requested by the Minister shall, review any matter relating to the management and operation of the DNA Database System and shall submit a report in writing of any such review to the Minister. | ||
(5) Subject to subsections (6) and (7), the Minister shall, as soon as practicable after receiving a report under subsection (4), cause a copy of it to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas and to be published in such manner as the Minister considers appropriate. | ||
(6) The Minister may, when laying a copy of a report received by him or her under subsection (4) before each House of the Oireachtas or publishing the report, omit any matter from the copy of the report that is so laid or published if he or she is of opinion that the disclosure of the matter— | ||
(a) would be prejudicial to the security of the DNA Database System, the security of the State or the investigation of criminal offences, or | ||
(b) may infringe the constitutional rights of any person. | ||
(7) If a matter is omitted in accordance with subsection (6) from a report received by the Minister under subsection (4), a statement to that effect shall be attached to the copy of the report when it is laid before each House of the Oireachtas or is published. |