Dr. Eoin O'Dell:

With respect, Deputy, that is the case under the freedom of information, FOI, regime. That regime contains a whole range of exceptions to the benefit of the party to whom the application is made and the same kinds of obligations would apply here. For example, the sensitive personal data to which the Deputy has referred, is already protected by the GDPR. We could not give it out and RTÉ could not do so either. The distinction that I sought to draw in my submission was between content in respect of which RTÉ is the author and third-party content that it has simply licensed, perhaps on an extensive basis, to ensure that it is not transferring or publishing data that third parties already own. It is only in respect of the data that RTÉ has in its archives that is not otherwise precluded from publication that this kind of Bill would apply. A lot of it would be parallel with the kinds of things that the FOI legislation already imposes on the university sector.