Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

These amendments attempt to reshuffle section 40 and involve the insertion of a new section 41. We are trying to deal with personal data and special categories of personal data separately. The two categories are currently lumped together in the Bill. Article 23 of the GDPR is the relevant provision in this regard. It does not make an explicit distinction between the processing of personal and specific categories of data but several sections of the GDPR state that special categories of data should be treated with special care. We have, therefore, attempted to separate personal data from special categories of personal data through amendments Nos. 42 to 45. I accept that Article 23 of the GDPR refers to the prevention, investigation, detection or prosecution of criminal offences, for example, which is provided for by section 40(b) of the Bill. However, the problem these amendments are trying to address relates to the scope the word "preventing" introduces in regard to criminal offences, in particular in the context of special categories of personal data such as religious beliefs, political opinion, ethnicity and sexual orientation. The GDPR and section 40 of the Bill do not apply to the Garda and the processing of data referred to in this section does not, therefore, apply to it. Section 40 would essentially permit profiling based on race, political ideology or religious beliefs should the processing of special categories of data be included. As I stated on Committee Stage, a body other than the Garda would, therefore, be able to profile a person based on his or her ethnicity, religion or political opinions in the name of preventing a criminal offence in the broadest sense. The phrasing in our amendment, "avoiding prejudicing the prevention, investigation or prosecution of" a criminal offence is based on wording used in the British Data Protection Bill and would prevent the kind of profiling to which I have referred.

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