This week Jim O’Callaghan, the Minister for Justice, stood up and explained why his plan to give the Garda Síochána powers to use AI to surveil the public didn’t need the safeguards set down in EU law. Simon McGarr appeared this weekend on Irish Podcast The Echo Chamber with host Tony Groves to discuss this recent legislative proposal and and the law surrounding biometric data and AI in Ireland and in the EU:
“The AI Act is a regulation from the EU (regulation 2024/1689 for the fans of EU references.) So, the AI Act is a binding piece of legislation that controls how AI can be used, including in law enforcement. And it creates a series of tiers of risk; the higher risk you go, the more important it is that you put in various kinds of protections for what you’re doing. It doesn’t totally ban things in their entirety, but it makes sure that you’ve got protections.
“And one of the things it says is – if you have use of after-the-fact AI on a body of recorded data for biometric identification, then that means you need to, first of all, designate it as high risk because that’s what the law says; and secondly, you need to get prior judicial authorisation to apply the AI to it in order to do the analysis.
“And what the Minister is doing is that he’s announced he has invented a unique new Irish activity, different to biometric identification, that he’s called biometric analysis. And because it’s different to biometric identification, it won’t have any of those pesky protections that the AI Act puts on biometric identification.”
— Simon McGarr, The Echo Chamber Podcast
McGarr Solicitors
McGarr Solicitors is an award-winning Dublin law firm providing expert legal advice and representation to individuals and businesses across Ireland. Recognised among the Irish Independent and Statista Top 75 Law Firms in Ireland in both 2022 and 2023, and named Civil Litigation Law Firm of the Year in Ireland 2025, the firm is known for combining legal excellence with a personal, client-focused approach. McGarr Solicitors has particular expertise in GDPR and data protection, medical negligence, personal injury, commercial law, corporate governance, and conveyancing, with a strong reputation for handling complex and high-profile cases while delivering practical, strategic advice tailored to each client’s needs.