James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Ms Dixon for her opening remarks. I will lead with two questions and then go around the room to facilitate the members. We will try to be short and sweet in our questions in this round. The witnesses will have the same time as the previous witnesses but the members may have to be speedier.

I have a big-picture question and a practical question for Ms Dixon. The first deals with the elephant in the room, which she deals with herself in her submission, namely, the threats from abroad to data protection in Ireland and the threat it is said these pose to our economic strategy and attractiveness as a digital hub for many companies. The concern, which I have expressed at meetings of this committee, is that if other member states and other regulatory fora begin parallel and competing processes of regulation, as has been evidenced by witnesses at the previous session and as has been testified in the European Parliament, various courts around Europe and various other parliaments, and if these processes of regulation grow legs and become practice, it will threaten our attractiveness as a one-stop shop. It is not a conversation we are starting; the conversation is already under way and we are joining it at this meeting this evening. It is important that we tackle it. I share Ms Dixon's view that there is a serious concern for the Government and the State as a whole. I hope we can work together to tackle it. It is very much a live concern. How does the DPC respond to that?