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DNA Fingerprinting or DNA Profiling via Shutterstock

Poll: Is a DNA database a good idea?

Proposals to set up a new database are being published today – but is it a good idea?

THE GOVERNMENT IS expected to publish legislation later today that will allow for the setting up of a new DNA database in Ireland.

Justice Minister Alan Shatter will set out the details of the new bill, but so far we know that the new law will compel sex offenders, criminals convicted of serious crimes, and those suspected of serious crimes to provide their DNA for the new database.

The database will help to solve crimes and trace missing persons, but civil liberties groups and others may have concerns about the indefinite retention of people’s information if the Garda Commissioner deems it necessary.

But what do you think? Is a DNA database a good idea?


Poll Results:

No (1735)
Yes (1595)
Don't know (298)

More: Serious criminals will have DNA logged on database from next year

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156 Comments
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    Mute Jp Cleary
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    May 15th 2025, 7:19 PM

    My own opinion is that Denis O’Brien couldn’t care less about ordinary workers.

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    Mute dave forde
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    May 16th 2025, 3:45 PM

    @John doe:

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    Mute Jb Walshe
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    May 15th 2025, 7:07 PM

    Respect to the Ben & Jerrys boss,Ben cohen

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    Mute ecrowley ecrowley
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    May 15th 2025, 7:23 PM

    @Jb Walshe: Not to derail an article, but fair play to him, especially considering his ethnicity.

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    Mute 8LLwCLed
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    May 16th 2025, 6:16 AM

    @John doe: sure he took the money when he sold up. He can say what he likes.

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    Mute Kevin O Brien
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    May 15th 2025, 7:26 PM

    Was Denis ,Fine Gaels Lowrys preferred bidder that time

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    Mute Buster Lawless
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    May 15th 2025, 7:08 PM

    A good, fair & well balanced article/ viewpoint. I simply cannot figure why / how or it should make an iota of difference to an employer exactly WHERE the work is done from……….provided productivity & results remain static or improve. I get that it ‘may’ be beneficial to hook up with colleagues once in a while ( see the white of their eyes so to speak) but the traditional 9 to 5 in an office miles away is thankfully an outdated Idea

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    Mute J H
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    May 15th 2025, 7:38 PM

    @Buster Lawless: is it outdated though? Still plenty of jobs out there that need people to be present. I don’t think remote working builders, nurses would ever take off. It’s a niche area. But they said on the radio the other day that the novelty of remote was coming to an end but people wanted incentives I.e planned activities and leisure areas. I thought wow, I always thought that a pay cheque was enough of an incentive. It’s not for everyone but nice to have the choice if it really helps you have a good quality of life.

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    Mute Kev Kerr
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    May 15th 2025, 7:46 PM

    @Buster Lawless: see the whites of their eyes? What are you going to do, shoot them?

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    Mute Buster Lawless
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    May 15th 2025, 7:56 PM

    @J H: mmmmm…… Can never see heart surgeons working remotely ……. obviously, the article relates to those who it can & does work well for

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    Mute Buster Lawless
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    May 15th 2025, 8:00 PM

    @Kev Kerr: lol, very good but seriously it IS great to hook up, brainstorm, grab a coffee occasionally with peers & colleagues……. Maybe I’m a wee bit olde skool but there are some interactions that are better suited to face-to-face

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    Mute Alan
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    May 15th 2025, 10:21 PM

    @Buster Lawless: that’s because you don’t keep up with the news. Remote surgery is well established.

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    Mute Dia M
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    May 16th 2025, 5:20 AM

    @Buster Lawless: there are actually a lot of surgeries that can be done remotely through robotics haha

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    Mute Sickof thisshit
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    May 15th 2025, 7:07 PM

    I’ll informed comments that are ignorant of today’s workloads. Showed us he’s in a world he no longer understands.

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    Mute Alan d
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    May 17th 2025, 7:12 PM

    @Sickof thisshit: He is 100% correct Dennis .

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    Mute honey badger
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    May 15th 2025, 8:00 PM

    How many days a year is the bauld Denis domiciled in Malta?

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    Mute Brian Hunt
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    May 15th 2025, 11:25 PM

    @honey badger: Probably none at all, it’s a tax dodge for the elite!

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    Mute Nikki Swift
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    May 15th 2025, 8:33 PM

    During COVID when it suited some employers to allow staff to work from home they were only delighted to send out laptops to keep their business open and keep staff in jobs so why can’t it keep going, if it saves staff money(they have no travel expenses) and the work is getting done what difference does it make

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    Mute J H
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    May 15th 2025, 7:49 PM

    I imagine it’s very difficult for Denis to understand remote working but he doesn’t actually realise he does it himself every day. It only affects a small sector the majority of us show up and work whether it be offices, hospitals, building sites, airports, shops, lorry drivers, bus drivers, taxis and hospitality sector. Definitely a generation of small business owners find it difficult which I can understand because it’s all they ever knew. I could do my job remotely but I’d hate it. Love getting dressed and going to the office and most days are a good laugh and I like the change of scenery. It wouldn’t suit my job or me.

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    Mute Cunningham Oliver
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    May 15th 2025, 9:09 PM

    I can work 2 days a week at home. I do 1 day a week at home. Still get the work done and hives me a better work/life balance. Denis O’Brien and a lot of top CEO’s hate us having workers right. They can do one. Hybrid working works for some industries. End of.

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    Mute Fergus O'Donnell
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    May 15th 2025, 8:21 PM

    A truly lost soul.

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    Mute Paul Garvey
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    May 15th 2025, 7:47 PM

    any view on working from prison ?

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    Mute Alan
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    May 15th 2025, 10:21 PM

    @Paul Garvey: already done via mobile phone

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    Mute Minnie Mouse
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    May 15th 2025, 10:46 PM

    Dennis O’Brien. Michael Lowry T.D., Why is that I cannot think of one of the without thinking of the other? Strange. Oh, wait…….Moriarty

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    Mute John Moore
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    May 16th 2025, 3:13 AM

    Hmmn how did Denis become a billionaire again? Maybe we could ask Michael Lowry. How he has the nerve to comment on anything let alone people’s work practices I don’t know. Some people just have no shame.

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    Mute rose sheridan
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    May 16th 2025, 6:49 AM

    @John Moore: Home is full of distractions…a few years back my gp left the consulting room ( where i was in mid consultation ( nothing serious) to greet his kids coming from school…normal (yes) focused (no)

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    Mute rose sheridan
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    May 16th 2025, 6:57 AM

    @John Moore: we need to listen to job creators(Denis OBrien &Michael O’Leary) a proportion of the ” remote” jobs will no longer exist in the near future for humans(AI) so who/what will be the future job creators?

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    Mute Kevin O'Brien
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    May 15th 2025, 11:38 PM

    I work in hospitality. So my personal experience doesn’t count. I can’t work remotely. My girlfriend has a good corporate position in a multinational bank. She works from home half the week, the other half she is 10 blocks away in the north American headquarters of said bank. She has some days at home that she has an easy and relaxed day and doesn’t have to be dialed in for the whole time, as long as the days work is done. At other times she is going from 7am, to deal with counterparts in Europe, and doesn’t stop for 12 hours or more. It will never apply across the board but if the company has put the procedures in place and they manage them correctly it is the way forward for certain industries

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    Mute JP
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    May 15th 2025, 8:31 PM

    Leave Denis O Brian aside. It’s obviously a good thing when civil service unions don’t want it to end. Another symptom of covid. So many people don’t want to work since then.

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    Mute Minnie Mouse
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    May 15th 2025, 10:48 PM

    The well fed head on the fkr

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    Mute S Os
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    May 16th 2025, 5:04 PM

    It’s always middle aged men with wives at home, helicopters and enough money to hire nannies and cheifs that think WFH is a bad thing. You will rarely hear a woman with kids , a full time job and an hour commute say its a waste of time. I have found you get more work and loyalty from WFH staff as they can be flexible, are less stressed from no commute and are saving a fortune doing from home exactly what they do in work

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    Mute Eugene Sol
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    May 16th 2025, 3:56 PM

    Brilliant article Dr. Catherine Conlon, my current employer is trying to push me out due to my wfh contract I could get during the covid time, nightmare things happening during 1.5 years, and it is terrible experience. Managers want to have slaves, see their heads, and this is main attribute of almost all companies. We live in time where people who manage other peoples, do not have enough skills and competences to do so, but the do. This frog like O’brien says us how to live and work, what to do and how spend time, I wish the world will show them the true, and allow people decide themselves where and how to work.

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    Mute S Suilleabhain
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    May 17th 2025, 1:58 AM

    Denis oBribe

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