Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

There were two versions of the amendment - amendments Nos. 57 and 58. I made this point on Committee Stage so I will not over-labour it but I believe the whole section is far too broad. Arguments have been made, in respect of numerous parts of the Bill, that the effort to provide excessive detail means that the Bill as drafted is unnecessary because the relevant sections of the GDPR have a direct effect. Article 9 provides adequately for all the political purposes that are described. It does not appear to me that any political representation on behalf of constituents or anything like that is not covered by Article 9 of the GDPR. Provided that consent is freely given and is fully informed then I believe that is covered.

My amendments amend section 47 also, which I raised on Committee Stage. The section creates a loophole allowing companies from other jurisdictions that operate in the State on electoral activities outside of Ireland to gather data and use it in electoral contests elsewhere. I recognise that electoral activities here are already covered but it would potentially create a situation where companies such as Cambridge Analytica could operate here provided they were not interfering in electoral activity in the State. I may come back in on one of the other amendments.

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