Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will oppose the section. We might be deemed to be wiser to oppose it and adhere to the GDPR in full, rather than trying to shape the section. My amendment is a fall-back position if the section is not completely opposed. We would like to return to it on Report Stage. Article 9 of the GDPR is very clear that the processing of political opinion is prohibited without the full and informed consent of the data subject, except in certain and very limited circumstances. Section 45 of the Bill is a bizarre attempt to carve out an exception for the processing of political opinion that is simply not provided for in the GDPR. We could write it into Irish law via section 45, but it would simply be superseded in any case by the GDPR. The phrase "subject to suitable and specific measures" appears many times in the Bill and points us back to section 35, to which the Minister referred as a toolbox for processing and protecting the rights of the data subject. Section 35 and the suitable and specific measures therein are extremely important and, in the case of the most important, lifted from various parts of the GDPR. The section does not require explicit consent, which is optional. Ministers do not have to use the toolkit in the section. Section 45 is a bizarre attempt to carve exemptions to the GDPR, particularly in the light of the Cambridge Analytica story and the fundamental threat to democracy that such companies pose.

Removing section 45 would not affect the use of the electoral register or the work of the Referendum Commission.

Article 13 of the GDPR explains the necessary steps we should take in terms of electoral activities such as door to door canvassing to adhere to the GDPR. The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner recently published guidelines on how canvassers would have to adapt. It will not affect polling companies or the use of focus groups or market research, only in the sense that consent will be required from the person being polled. Obtaining this consent should not be especially difficult or onerous. In any case, the GDPR absolutely requires the seeking of this consent, as per Article 9, in processing special categories of data such as political opinion.