Ms Maree Ryan-O'Brien:

I will take the second part first and Mr. O'Brien will take the question on GDPR, if that is okay.

We touched on the issues around best practice as regards international best practice in the first recommendation in the report. One of the points from which we need to start, and I know this diverges somewhat from a social work model, is that we need to have engagement with people who are outside the remit of the commission. Members might be able to get from the report a very clear sense of the frustration that is felt not just by people who were outside the remit of the commission but people who were in the remit but were unable to participate. I recall that one respondent in particular said, "I thought [that] when ... [my] home ... was included that I could go ... [and give evidence] to them”, but that just did not happen. Of all of the respondents to the survey, in which we asked questions about the commission, only 5% were able to take part in the commission's work, even though 50% were eligible to do so. That is a rather stark percentage of people who could not engage on an issue by which they were directly affected.

We need to have pathways to participation for people who did not come not within the remit of the commission and who could not be included. We will begin to see this in a more holistic approach whereby we understand that it is the case that not every home was included under the commission's remit and not every adoptee came through a home. We needpeople to see the matter in a holistic way - as part of a larger issue. That would be the first step.

The second step is that there needs to be an immediate review of social work practices within Tusla and the Adoption Authority of Ireland. What we came across in the context of our research was across the board, with every agency, from people who interacted with us who were adopted. There was a stark contrast with regard to people who were, say, the children of adoptees; there did not seem to be as much invasiveness, as I would describe it, for them when it came to accessing information. If we were to look at it as a learning process, not just for society at large as to what the experiences of adoptees are but also with regard to the social work model and how that can be improved, there is a great deal that can be learned from this and much of the research we carried out can be of benefit. We really need to see that being taken on board and there must be an acknowledgment of where there have been shortcomings. Obviously, our long-term gain, which I hope will not be too long arriving, would come in the form of a new agency. I will let Mr. O'Brien take over as regards the GDPR aspect.