John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

To take up Deputy Durkan's point, there is a need for those elected to the European Parliament to ensure greater scrutiny of regulations and directives handed down to us by the EU for transposition into Irish law. There is not enough of it. It is led mainly by bureaucrats, I believe, based on some of the material I read. That should not be the case. We need to make a greater effort as a country to ensure the interrogation of the various measures occurs and involves Members of the European Parliament.

In doing constituency work, I note that different county councils and Departments have different approaches. Some ask for written consent from the constituent and some do not. To clarify the position, there is a need for someone to set out a template for dealing with Members of Parliament, in particular, because we are here for a purpose. Some of the regulations on GDPR are a little vague in that respect. Clarifying the role of a Member of the Oireachtas is important.

There has been much consultation on the regulations, which I have to hand. The committee has played its part by considering them. Therefore, I propose that we now regard them as adequately scrutinised and considered. Is that agreed? Agreed. I thank the Minister of State and his officials for attending and the members for their input.