Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

It has been suggested that the draft heads of a new data protection Bill are on the way on foot of an EU regulation. Essentially, this relates to the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner. It has been reported that the new law proposes to exempt public sector bodies from huge administrative fines, except when they are competing against commercial interests. The State wants to exempt itself. Is this legislation coming forward? Has it been withdrawn? If it is coming forward, will there be pre-legislative scrutiny? The law of unintended consequences could deliver some very significant problems if this legislation does not receive proper scrutiny at an early stage.

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