Ireland's National DNA Database Marks 10th Anniversary

Ireland Department of Justice

Published February 26th, 2026

Detected March 24th, 2026

Summary

Ireland's Department of Justice announced the 10th anniversary of the national DNA database, established under the Criminal Justice (Forensic Evidence and DNA Database System) Act 2014. The database, managed by Forensic Science Ireland, has aided nearly 8,000 criminal investigations since 2015 and currently holds over 94,000 profiles.

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The Department of Justice in Ireland has issued a notice commemorating the 10th anniversary of the national DNA database, which was established in 2015 under the Criminal Justice (Forensic Evidence and DNA Database System) Act 2014. The database, managed by Forensic Science Ireland, serves as an intelligence source for criminal investigations, aiding in body identifications and missing persons cases. It has supported nearly 8,000 criminal investigations since its inception, with a significant portion related to burglaries, criminal damage, and robberies, as well as more serious crimes.

This notice is informational and does not introduce new regulatory requirements or compliance obligations. It highlights the database's current status, with over 94,000 profiles, and its ongoing contribution to crime-solving capacity. No specific actions are required from regulated entities, and there are no associated compliance deadlines or penalties mentioned in this announcement.

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News

10th Anniversary of National DNA Database

From: Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration
Published on: 26 February 2026
Last updated on: 9 March 2026

Today marks 10 years since the creation of Ireland’s national DNA database. An event to mark the anniversary took place at Forensic Science Ireland HQ.

The database is used as an intelligence source for criminal investigations, to help find missing people and to help identify unknown people. It assisted in 180 body identifications and 29 missing persons cases in 2025

Since its establishment in 2015, the system has aided nearly 8,000 criminal investigations, primarily cases relating to burglaries, criminal damage, and robberies. It has also assisted in the investigation of more serious crimes including murders, sexual and violent offences and assaults.

The database now has over 94,000 profiles and the crime solving capacity of the database will continue to grow as the database itself grows.

The DNA Database was established under the Criminal Justice (Forensic Evidence and DNA Database System) Act 2014. The Act states that certain DNA samples can be taken to be added to the DNA database. Forensic Science Ireland manage the DNA database.