Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 5 July 2017

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality

General Scheme of the Data Protection Bill 2017: Discussion (Resumed)

9:00 am

Mr. T.J. McIntyre:

The Deputy has it. I would be in agreement with it. I would add a slightly technical but important point that he did not make. Head 91 deals with a judicial remedy which is not just damages but includes injunctive relief, for example in respect of the data subject. It does not have anything to say about the mandatory position under Article 81 of the directive that not-for-profit groups can bring actions on behalf of data subjects. In other words, it does not provide for a group such as Digital Rights Ireland to be able to bring a claim on behalf of an individual who has mandated it to bring an action on his or her behalf. I think the minimum that needs to be done is for the draft Bill to be modified to reflect that requirement.