ICCL has analysed political party manifestos for the general election, mainly against our priority election asks.
This is by no means an exhaustive or thorough analysis. We have nine priority asks in our election manifesto and here we measure some of the commitments made in party manifestos against our priority asks and their impact on human rights, whether positive or negative. We have analysed full manifestos only and have done so as they have been published.
We encourage you to read ICCL’s manifesto asks and to look at the party manifestos and commitments in detail before you cast your vote on Friday 29 November.
The content of this webpage was last updated on Thursday 28 November.
Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil commits in its manifesto to “legislate to ban recommender algorithms in children’s social media feeds and to fully supervise the use of all recommender algorithms by online platforms”. We commend this. ICCL’s position is that such systems are already operating unlawfully.
The party also commits to reforming the Coroner Service, though only limited detail is included in their manifesto. ICCL has called for a ‘Charter of the Bereaved’ setting out the rights of families, enhanced oversight and structural reform of the service, and reform of the selection of juries for inquests.
However, we are deeply concerned that Fianna Fáil's manifesto commits to introducing a "Digital Passport" as a requirement to use the internet. In the absence of detail about this passport, ICCL warns that identifying and recording what every Irish person is doing on the internet cannot be countenanced. Children can be protected online without a gross intrusion into everyone's private life. We invite Fianna Fail to clarify or reconsider this proposal.
The party’s manifesto proposes to expand the remit of the Special Criminal Court to include organised crime groups engaged in drug trafficking. ICCL’s longstanding position is that the non-jury Special Criminal Court, an emergency measure in existence for over 50 years, should be abolished. An independent review group set up by the government recommended over a year ago that government repeal the law which underpins the Court and consider alternatives to non-jury trials. The government has yet to respond.
Fianna Fáil also proposes to legislate to allow Gardaí to use facial recognition technology when investigating serious offences. Facial recognition technology is highly invasive, and evidence has shown that it is faulty, unreliable and discriminatory. Introducing it into Irish policing would mean people – in particular women and people of colour – are at risk of being misidentified as criminal suspects; would put a chilling power in the hands of gardaí to identify and track us as we go about our daily lives; and would completely change the relationship between gardaí and the communities they serve, in particular minority communities.
The party says it will legislate to allow Gardaí to remove face masks at protests. While this commitment lacks detail, it is important to note that people may choose to wear a face mask at a protest for a variety of legitimate reasons, including to protect their health or privacy.
The manifesto does not mention reforming public ethics, even though it has been acknowledged domestically and highlighted by several international bodies that our current systems are outdated and not fit for purpose.
Green Party
The Green Party commits in its manifesto to expediting the legislation necessary to ratify the UN’s Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT). This would be an important step towards protecting the rights of people being detained involuntarily.
It also commits to improving access to abortion through a range of measures including removing the three-day waiting period, improving geographic availability and removing the criminal sanction attached to medical professionals who provide care outside the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. This aligns with ICCL’s ask to fully and effectively implement Marie O’Shea’s recommendations to improve access to abortion.
The Green Party makes welcome commitments on data protection, including an independent review of the Data Protection Commission, a review of the national security hazards from online advertising and internet-connected Chinese CCTV, and support for digital public infrastructure alternatives to Big Tech at EU level.
However, the manifesto makes no mention of reform of the Coroner Service, which is one of ICCL’s priority asks in this general election.
Also, the Green Party proposes to restrict the use of facial recognition technology by An Garda Síochána to the detection of the most serious crimes, with appropriate safeguards in place and in accordance with the EU’s AI Act. While this is not as expansive as some other parties’ commitments, ICCL opposes the introduction of facial recognition technology into policing in Ireland because it is faulty, discriminatory and constitutes mass surveillance of a type previously unknown in Ireland.
People Before Profit
People Before Profit in its manifesto commits to abolishing the Special Criminal Court and defending the right to a jury trial. This is welcome and in line with ICCL’s manifesto ask and longstanding position that the non-jury Special Criminal Court should be abolished.
The party also commits to improving access to abortion through a range of measures including decriminalising abortion, abolishing the three-day waiting period, improving geographic availability and increasing the 12-week limit to allow for abortion on request. This aligns with ICCL’s ask to fully and effectively implement Marie O’Shea’s recommendations to improve access to abortion.
However, the party’s manifesto makes no mention of police reform, accountability and oversight which is a priority area of ICCL’s work.
Nor does it mention reform of the Coroner Service, which is one of ICCL’s priority asks in this general election, or facial recognition technology. ICCL opposes the introduction of facial recognition technology into Irish policing because it is faulty, discriminatory and constitutes mass surveillance of a type previously unknown in Ireland.
Fine Gael
Fine Gael in its manifesto commits to introducing legislation to establish a “modern, fit-for-purpose” Coroner Service. ICCL has called for a ‘Charter of the Bereaved’ setting out the rights of families, enhanced oversight and structural reform of the service, and reform of the selection of juries for inquests. It remains to be seen whether Fine Gael’s plan includes these reforms.
The party also commits to reform ethics in public office legislation within the first year of the new government. This timeline is welcome, though we await more detail in terms of the legislation and measures involved.
Fine Gael makes an unspecified commitment to “tackle recommender algorithms”, which is welcome but lacks detail.
However, on facial recognition technology (FRT), the party says it plans to:
- Deploy FRT for serious crimes with a maximum sentence of five years or more and for missing persons cases, with strict safeguards;
- Introduce the use of live FRT in cases of terrorism, national security and missing persons, with strict safeguards;
- In the area of retail crime, employ FRT to identify and focus on habitual offenders.
ICCL opposes the introduction of live and retrospective FRT into Irish policing because it is faulty, discriminatory and constitutes mass surveillance of a type previously unknown in Ireland. Live FRT, specifically, involves the capturing of faces on video, in real-time, and cross-checking them against a watchlist. This means it involves tracking and monitoring people in real-time. Retrospective FRT could be applied to significant amounts of CCTV material, after the fact, and used to try and identify people’s movements over hours, weeks or months.
On access to abortion, Fine Gael says it will “ensure full compliance” with the legislation providing for abortion and “work to guarantee that every maternity hospital offers complete termination services”. ICCL in our manifesto has called for parties to fully and effectively implement Marie O’Shea’s recommendations to improve access to abortion.
Fine Gael also commits to retain the Special Criminal Court. ICCL’s longstanding position is that the non-jury Special Criminal Court, an emergency measure in existence for over 50 years, should be abolished. An independent review group set up by the government recommended over a year ago that government repeal the law which underpins the Court and consider alternatives to non-jury trials. The government has yet to respond.
Fine Gael plans to ban the wearing of masks at protests where they are “intended to intimidate”. It is important to note that people may choose to wear a face mask at a protest for a variety of legitimate reasons, including to protect their health or privacy. ICCL’s position is that any limits to the right to protest should be introduced sparingly and only where there is no other approach that would constitute a more minimal interference.
Fine Gael says it plans to equip every garda on the beat with body-worn cameras. These cameras are currently being piloted in Dublin, Waterford and Limerick. A national roll-out should not be a predetermined outcome of this process. The pilots should assess whether the cameras deliver on their promised benefits and the results should be reviewed and published before moving to any national roll-out.
Labour Party
The Labour Party in its manifesto sets out a detailed plan for reforming Ireland’s public ethics regime. This is welcome as it has been acknowledged domestically and highlighted by several international bodies that our current systems are outdated and not fit for purpose.
The party commits to ratifying the UN’s Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT). This would be an important step towards protecting the rights of people being detained involuntarily.
Labour has also committed to protecting children from toxic recommender algorithms through regulation and legislation if necessary. We commend this. ICCL’s position is that such systems are already operating unlawfully.
The party says that it will complete the work of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland (CoFPI) and pass a revised Garda (Powers) Bill. The Garda (Powers) Bill is a key outstanding reform from CoFPI’s 2018 recommendations and would codify An Garda Síochána’s powers of arrest, search and detention.
The Labour Party also commits to improving access to abortion through a range of measures including ending the three-day waiting period, extending the 12-week limit in line with medical advice, removing the criminalisation of abortion, and amending the definition of fatal foetal abnormalities and the restrictive time period for diagnoses. This aligns with ICCL’s ask to fully and effectively implement Marie O’Shea’s recommendations to improve access to abortion.
Labour says it will reform the Coroner Service and develop a Charter for the Bereaved. ICCL has called for this ‘Charter of the Bereaved’ setting out the rights of families, enhanced oversight and structural reform of the service, and reform of the selection of juries for inquests.
The party says it will reform the Special Criminal Court, and repeal and replace the Offences Against the State legislation in line with the majority report of the independent review group. This falls short of ICCL’s election ask for the Special Criminal Court to be abolished. Following abolition, our position is that there should be a focus on jury reform to ensure that the rights of jurors and accused people can be adequately protected.
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin in its manifesto commits to drafting legislation to implement the findings of the independent review of the Offences Against the State Acts, which underpin the Special Criminal Court. ICCL’s longstanding position is that the non-jury Special Criminal Court, an emergency measure in existence for over 50 years, should be abolished. The independent review group recommended over a year ago that government repeal the law which underpins the Court and consider alternatives to non-jury trials. The government has yet to respond.
The party says it will establish judicial inquiries into cases such as Shane O’Farrell, Sallins and Terence Wheelock. ICCL has worked with a number of families involved in these cases, who have campaigned for decades for truth, justice and accountability. However, Sinn Féin says in its manifesto that it would repeal the Criminal Justice (Hate Offences) Act 2024. ICCL advocated for hate crime legislation and welcomed this new Act. Our position is that the next government to ensure the legislation is effective through concrete implementation measures, coupled with a holistic approach to tackling hate and extremism in Irish society.
The party also makes no mention of a number of issues ICCL has positions on:
- It makes no reference to ratifying the UN’s Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT), which would be an important step towards protecting the rights of people being detained involuntarily;
- It does not make any commitment on access to abortion. ICCL in our manifesto has called for parties to fully and effectively implement Marie O’Shea’s recommendations to improve access to abortion;
- It makes no mention of the Coroner Service, which is in need of reform. ICCL has called for a “Charter of the Bereaved” setting out the rights of families, enhanced oversight and structural reform of the service, and reform of the selection of juries for inquests;
- It fails to set out a position on facial recognition technology. ICCL opposes the introduction of facial recognition technology into Irish policing because it is faulty, discriminatory and constitutes mass surveillance of a type previously unknown in Ireland.
Social Democrats
The Social Democrats in its manifesto commits to ratifying the UN’s Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT). The party says it will establish a National Preventive Mechanism and create an inspectorate under OPCAT that is financially independent from the Department of Justice and accountable to the Oireachtas. Ratification and implementation of OPCAT would be an important step towards protecting the rights of people being detained involuntarily.
The Social Democrats also say they will enact legislation to protect children online, by regulating 'preferences algorithms’ and ensuring that engagement-based recommendation algorithms are turned off by default. This would be a very positive step and aligns with ICCL’s calls for algorithms to be switched off by default for everyone.
The party also commits to implementing in full the recommendations of the O’Shea Review into the operation of the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018, including removing the three-day waiting period for access to abortion services, improving access to services in underserved regions and improving the information available. ICCL in our manifesto has called for parties to fully and effectively implement Marie O’Shea’s recommendations.
However, the Social Democrats manifesto makes no mention of the Coroner Service, which is in need of reform. ICCL has called for a “Charter of the Bereaved” setting out the rights of families, enhanced oversight and structural reform of the service, and reform of the selection of juries for inquests.
Nor does the party set out a position on facial recognition technology. ICCL opposes the introduction of facial recognition technology into Irish policing because it is faulty, discriminatory and constitutes mass surveillance of a type previously unknown in Ireland.
Aontú
Aontú in its manifesto commits to “undertake a comprehensive audit of all funded NGO’s [sic]” and says it “will fund those that offer value for money or offer valuable services in the community”. This commitment ignores the strict regulation of funding for NGOs and community and voluntary organisations and does not reflect the reality of the countless organisations across the country – often underfunded – working to provide frontline services and support on behalf of the government. Attempts to divide the sector into "good" and "bad" organisations through an audit will isolate and put a chilling effect on some work. This tactic has been deployed elsewhere, such as in Hungary to stifle critical voices.
Access to abortion services is one of ICCL’s priority asks in this election. On this issue, Aontú describes itself in its manifesto as a “pro life party”. Amongst other abortion-related measures, it says it will seek to protect the mandatory three-day waiting period for an abortion. ICCL’s ask is that parties commit to fully and effectively implement Marie O’Shea’s recommendations to improve access to abortion. This includes the recommendation that the waiting period be replaced with a discretionary right to a reflection period. ICCL is also concerned about Aontú’s proposals to effectively introduce legal personhood to foetuses, including by granting a children’s allowance from the fourth month of pregnancy. Policies such as these are emerging in other jurisdictions and are inherently opposed to ICCL’s fundamental values of respecting bodily autonomy and the right to choose.
Aontú’s manifesto contains a lengthy section on “gender ideology”, which includes a commitment to repeal the Gender Recognition Act 2015. Gender recognition is required to safeguard trans people’s human rights under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (privacy and family life) and the Supreme Court judgment in the case of Lydia Foy. In our election manifesto, ICCL called on parties to implement the recommendations from the 2018 review of the Gender Recognition Act which would provide effective legal gender recognition for non-binary and trans young people. Our allies in the LGBTI+ sector have reviewed all the political party manifestos. You can read their analysis here.
The party also makes no mention of a number of other issues ICCL has positions on:
- It makes no reference to ratifying the UN’s Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT), which would be an important step towards protecting the rights of people being detained involuntarily;
- It makes no mention of the Coroner Service, which is in need of reform. ICCL has called for a “Charter of the Bereaved” setting out the rights of families, enhanced oversight and structural reform of the service, and reform of the selection of juries for inquests;
- It does not reference reforming public ethics, even though it has been acknowledged domestically and highlighted by several international bodies that our current systems are outdated and not fit for purpose;
- It fails to set out a position on facial recognition technology. ICCL opposes the introduction of facial recognition technology into Irish policing because it is faulty, discriminatory and constitutes mass surveillance of a type previously unknown in Ireland;
- It does not mention algorithms which push harmful content into children’s online feeds and amplify hysteria and division in society. ICCL’s position is that these systems are operating unlawfully and should be off by default.
Independent Ireland
Independent Ireland in its manifesto does not mention reforming public ethics, even though it has been acknowledged domestically and highlighted by several international bodies that our current systems are outdated and not fit for purpose.
The party commits to “conduct unannounced audits and inspections of public bodies, NGO’s [sic] and agencies” and “review and reform spending in NGO sector [sic] to reduce government waste; reward NGOs that provide valuable services and value for money and cut funding to those that do not.” As with the Aontú manifesto, this commitment ignores the highly regulated manner in which funding for NGOs and community and voluntary organisations is managed and does not reflect the reality of often underfunded organisations working to provide services, support and advocacy for vulnerable groups. Attempts to divide this sector into "good" and "bad" organisations will isolate and put a chilling effect on some work. This tactic has been deployed elsewhere, such as in Hungary to stifle critical voices. The Independent Ireland manifesto proposes a “Department of Efficiency and Reform” review of spending on NGOs to save €500 million. ICCL would welcome clarity on where the party propose to cut half a billion of funding to an already stretched and highly regulated social sector.
The party also makes no mention of a number of other issues ICCL has positions on:
- It makes no reference to ratifying the UN’s Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT), which would be an important step towards protecting the rights of people being detained involuntarily;
- It makes no mention of the Coroner Service, which is in need of reform. ICCL has called for a “Charter of the Bereaved” setting out the rights of families, enhanced oversight and structural reform of the service, and reform of the selection of juries for inquests;
- There is no reference in the manifesto to the Special Criminal Court. ICCL’s longstanding position is that the non-jury Court, an emergency measure in existence for over 50 years, should be abolished. An independent review group set up by the government recommended over a year ago that government repeal the law which underpins the Court and consider alternatives to non-jury trials. The government has yet to respond.
- It does not make any commitment on access to abortion. ICCL in our manifesto has called for parties to fully and effectively implement Marie O’Shea’s recommendations to improve access to abortion;
- It fails to set out a position on facial recognition technology. ICCL opposes the introduction of facial recognition technology into Irish policing because it is faulty, discriminatory and constitutes mass surveillance of a type previously unknown in Ireland;
- It does not mention algorithms which push harmful content into children’s online feeds and amplify hysteria and division in society. ICCL’s position is that these systems are operating unlawfully and should be off by default.