Law note · Ireland
GDPR Article 9 and Data Protection Act 2018 Section 46, Special Categories and Employment Biometric Data in Ireland
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Article 9(1) governs biometric data as a special category, and the DPA 2018 explicitly lists biometric data among the special categories it elaborates on.
Section 46 addresses processing special category data, including biometric data, in the employment and social-welfare context: an employer must ground the processing in a legitimate argument tied to the employee's vital interests or another Article 9(2) condition with a public-interest character, with suitable and specific measures safeguarding the data subject.
No dedicated Irish provision on voiceprint capture, retention, or destruction specifically was found; the GDPR baseline, that a voiceprint captured through specific technical processing for identification is special category data on the same footing as a faceprint, governs by default.
What it asks of an app
- Where you process special category data, including biometric data, about an employee in Ireland, ground it in a legitimate argument tied to vital interests or another Article 9(2) condition with a public-interest character, and put suitable and specific safeguarding measures in place, under Data Protection Act 2018 Section 46.
- Treat any biometric identifier your system derives through its own technical processing as General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Article 9 special category data, whether or not the source photo or audio was publicly available.
When LexLint raises it
Declared activities: processes_biometrics, processes_voice, high_risk_decisions
Primary source: Official Journal text, EUR-Lex, Regulation (EU) 2016/679
Data Protection Act 2018 §46