Alex White (Dublin South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy is correct that this reflects on some of the discussion we have already had. The complaints procedure set out in the Bill refers to the process that owners or occupiers of property can follow with a postcode-related complaint. The complaints procedure is set out in the postcode contractor's code of practice and, as I indicated earlier, the postcode contractor has consulted the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner in the drafting of the code of practice, and that office has made a number of observations and recommendations, which the postcode contractor is happy to accept. The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner has stated that it will approve the code of practice once these changes have been incorporated.

Furthermore, the Data Protection Act provides powers for the Data Protection Commissioner to investigate complaints and enforce compliance with the Act. I made the point earlier about the powers of the Data Protection Commissioner. The provisions of the Data Protection Acts apply to any postcode-related complaints which the commissioner may receive. I emphasise that there is nothing to prevent persons complaining to the Data Protection Commissioner where there is a perceived breach of the Data Protection Act in the context of the postcodes project. It is therefore neither necessary nor appropriate to set out investigative functions for the Data Protection Commissioner in this Bill, given that there is a statutory regime already in place. The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner has been consulted extensively during the drafting stages of the Bill and has at no stage indicated that the provisions set out in the 1988 Act are inadequate, as I noted earlier. I trust that the Deputy will accept, for the outlined reasons, that I am unable to accept the amendment.