Ms Helen Dixon:

We have been through a series of very lengthy engagements with the Office of Public Works since I was appointed more than five years ago. It is for the OPW to say why it has not been able to secure a building suitable for our needs and in which all our Dublin-based staff could be located. It says that, in part, it is because there have been very few suitable properties on the market that it can make available. The other response I believe it would give is that the building requirements we have specified pose particular challenges. The Deputy may be aware that at a data protection conference in Dublin just this week one of the presenters put up a very large photo of the office in Portarlington, which is located over a supermarket. This photograph has been circulated globally with commentary to the effect that this is how seriously Ireland takes data protection. As such, we have specified to the Office of Public Works that we ideally need a standalone building which is not co-located with Government Departments to reflect our independence. We also ideally need a building that is located centrally in Dublin, near to the large entities we supervise. We also ideally need a building that is not located over a supermarket or commercial premises that could be used against us.