Dr. Michelle O'Sullivan:

The simple answer is that in Ireland we do not know. That would be the next stage for the FSU's conversations with employers. Internationally, a lot of the software is third party, with some level of customisation for different employers. That is why there is this question about who is responsible. We do not have regulation in Ireland and even internationally there is still not strong regulation about ensuring that the employer is responsible. There are some proposals that there should be joint liability and that this might incentivise tech companies to ensure that their technology is compliant with national employment laws. If they have joint responsibility or liability, in the way in which GDPR does in some instances, this might be a good thing for regulation to look at. However, at the moment the answer is that we do not know.