Seán Kenny (Dublin North East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome this Bill as a member of the Joint Committee on Communications, Energy and Natural Resources. Later this year, the Government will introduce a national postcode system, which will assign a unique seven-digit postcode to each postal address in the State. The purpose of this Bill is to ensure the public interest is satisfied in the undertaking of legitimate postcode activities so that the processing of personal data in postcode-enabled databases is in compliance with the Data Protection Acts. The legislation will specify the data protection principles with which the postcode contractor and the re-seller of postcode databases will be obliged to comply. This is to ensure the privacy of the owners and occupiers of properties in respect of which postcodes have been allocated is safeguarded.

The main provisions of the Bill before the House include the setting out of the scope of the postcode-related activities to be encompassed by the postcodes legislation. This includes the development and maintenance of a postcode system and the dissemination of postcodes. The legislation also deals with the matching of addresses, the incorporation of address aliases into databases and the licensing of the postcode address database. The Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources may also specify by way of regulations new legitimate postcode activities that may be undertaken. The Minister will be required to consult the Data Protection Commissioner and the Minister for Justice and Equality before making any regulations in this respect.

The proposed new section 66A of the Communications Regulation (Postal Services) Act 2011 will give the Minister the power, by regulations, to set down requirements that a business must satisfy before it can be granted a licence to use a postcode database to provide value-added services. This will enable the Minister to ensure value-added resellers are screened against specific criteria before they can use postcode databases to provide services. This section will also give the Minister the power, by regulations, to require the postcode contractor to include certain specific provisions in the licences it grants to value-added resellers. This will enable the Minister to ensure there is a robust legal framework governing the manner in which value-added resellers use postcode databases, including requirements such as the right to audit, suspend and terminate licences. The postcode contractor will not grant a licence to a value-added reseller or end-user unless it can be demonstrated that it has registered with the appropriate data protection regulator.

The proposed new section 66B of the 2011 Act will introduce a specific obligation to publish a privacy notice so that specific information is made readily available to individuals on how postcodes will be used, to whom postcodes may be licensed and the rights of individuals with regard to the correction of data and the making of complaints. The proposed new section 66C will confirm that the postcode contractor, the Minister and the value-added resellers may process personal data for purposes related to or connected with a legitimate postcode activity. The proposed new section 66D will provide for a statutory framework for a complaints procedure in relation to postcodes. This will ensure adequate steps are put in place to safeguard the legitimate interests of the owners and occupiers of properties. The proposed new section 66E will impose a statutory obligation on the postcode contractor to develop a data retention policy to ensure decommissioned postcodes are retained for record-keeping purposes. I commend the Bill to the House.

See this speech in context