Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses. They have raised some important issues. Many of the questions have been asked and I am conscious of time. I will focus on one particular issue.

First, I refer to heads 86, 101 and 104, which deal with the registration of electors of no fixed address, anomalous electors and pending electors. One will note in those provisions there is this issue of registration, etc. What is particularly important is that paragraph 19, page 3, of the deputy commissioner's submission to the committee today states:

It is noted that the establishment of a list of pending electors will require the processing of the personal data of children. The DPC has advised the Department [I would be interested in that advice] to take account of our recently published draft guidance titled, Children Front and Centre: Fundamentals for a Child-Oriented Approach to Data Processing.

This is of serious concern. I would like the deputy commissioner to tell the committee the main recommendations of that document because I think they are important. It is a particularly sensitive area, and one we must be cognisant of in relation to this proposed legislation. I will give my time to the deputy commissioner to tease out and explain to the committee some of the fundamentals. I read some of this document today but I would like the deputy commissioner to set out his understanding of it. The centrality of that document is particularly important as part of this process.