Ms Mairéad McCabe:

While I did confirm that our main focus in the telecommunications policy and regulation division is on the telecommunications sector, since we are holding the pen at working party level, there is a concern to ensure that all the relevant inputs are made, including consulting for example with the Data Protection Commission to ensure that what comes out at the end of the legislative discussion is fit for purpose and will not breach any rules. I am afraid I cannot comment on what happened with regard to the public services card. Mr. Lowry may wish to comment on that. I want to reassure the committee that a very close eye will be kept on any new suggestions coming in from the Commission that would in any way go near to breaching GDPR because that is not allowable in European legal terms. We are conscious of the fact that as the technical discussion proceeds, the Commission in a way is giving itself quite a lot of freedom through giving itself power in the revision to produce a number of implementing Acts. It behoves us all from a cross-departmental perspective to ensure that whatever is in the top line of the legislation itself, that the technical detail of what goes into the implementing Acts will not end up breaching in any way what we hold dear in terms of GDPR.