Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate that. The following is absolutely the last one - I am getting worse than Deputy Clare Daly.

In the course of Ms Morgan's address to us at the outset, under "New trends", she stated that in light of the requirement on the Government to consult the DPC on certain new legislation, the DPC has reviewed and provided "observations on new and draft legislation, with 25 items of primary or secondary legislation coming to the DPC for review during this seven-month period", I guess, from the inception of the GDPR to the end of the year. As to new and draft legislation, the largest body of legislation that goes through these Houses is scrutinised in this committee. We take Committee Stage of the greatest body of legislation passing through the Houses, that from the Department of Justice and Equality. The requester in this instance, I presume, is the Department. While I could understand the Data Protection Commission's responses going on the draft which may not have even presented in the general scheme coming before the committee, when I hear the point about new legislation I note my colleagues and I are the legislators. Ms Morgan indicated 25 items to which the DPC has responded. Government may be the initiator but I, as Chair of this committee, have no recall of ever having received any feedback on legislation from the DPC. I wonder is that the way it should be and is that appropriate, if we are not the requester. Legislation is the business of the Houses, the Dáil and the Seanad. Deputies Clare Daly and Wallace initiate legislation. They are called Private Members' Bills. We deal with them all the time. Government sponsors Bills. We deal with them all the time. I would have a degree of confidence that if Deputy Clare Daly had requested a DPC opinion on a piece of legislation, the Deputy would share it, and if it was new legislation that had got to Committee Stage, it would not be withheld from us. I do not see why Government should be different because it is the initiator of proposed legislation from those of us who are broadly labelled or perceived to be Opposition voices.

Perhaps the commission representatives would comment on that. My own sense is that if the commission is there to carry out a specific function then we, as legislators, should be privy to all the relevant information to inform us as to the suitability, the consequences and the concerns - if any - of all legislation. I do not believe that anything should be withheld from our eyes. As the people who make the law, members have a statutory responsibility and a public role and responsibility. In responding to such requests in the future would the commission think it appropriate to release its replies to the Members of the Houses or the respective committee? I believe it should be the widest possible audience. How would the representatives like to respond to that?