Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am looking forward to our engagement on the Bill. There was a very constructive debate on it in the Seanad over a number of days. We teased out some of the detailed issues. May I make a general point that I will be returning to repeatedly during our discussions? For the most part, the general data protection regulation, GDPR, is a directly applicable legal instrument. That presents a challenge for member states insofar as they are not allowed to alter its scope, whether by means of interpretation, elaboration or adjustment.

The Court of Justice has made this very clear in case law. Any such action on the part of a member state, by placing obstacles in the way of free movement of personal data between member states would, in essence, be a breach of EU law. That would have the immediate consequence of triggering infringement proceedings against the state by the European Commission in the Commission's role as custodian of the treaties. Neither this nor any future Government would wish to find itself in that position, having to defend national law measures that are in conflict with the GDPR. I ask that the committee be mindful of this in the context of our deliberations and debate.