Michael Colreavy (Sligo-North Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 1.

In page 7, to delete lines 19 to 21 and substitute the following:"(2) A person who breaches the Act of 1988 in relation to postcodes shall be liable in damages in tort.".

I have concerns when data protection measures are inserted in primary legislation, as is the case with this Bill, because the legislation will depend on close linkages with the principal Data Protection Act. I have identified some specific omissions in the Bill before us. For example, enforcement will not be possible under this legislation and the text does not refer to penalties. I do not see how its provisions can be enforced outside Ireland, certainly outside the European Union, and, as such, no one will be under any compulsion to obey them.

If a person's privacy is breached, he or she will not be able to obtain compensation unless damage can be proved, which will be difficult, if not impossible, to achieve. I fail to see where the Bill provides additional privacy protection in practical terms. Furthermore, I do not believe it can be implemented in the absence of an enforcer and specific consequences for breaches of its provisions. I am probably straying a little into the discussion of amendments Nos. 2 to 10, inclusive.