Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

It is certainly not our intention in drafting the amendment that in every single public service transaction with the State, whether with the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection, TII or others, people would repeatedly have to be asked for consent. I fear that we are doing something akin to what is happening in the United Kingdom where broad and sweeping capabilities in sharing data actually bring risks with them. I do not see it being beyond the powers of the State, in setting up this new governance system, to ensure there would be mechanisms in place where consent would be given in an efficient, simple and clear manner. I refer to people stating they consent to their data being used in all social welfare and other State mechanisms. It would be similar to how I can adjust my privacy settings when I deal with the private sector in the area of social networks, etc. As Deputy Wallace said, that is going to be legally required for security and other reasons. To have a sweeping, broad and open approach, or a one-size-fits-all approach, as we use more data and data collection systems become more sophisticated risks creating instances that will breach our basic fundamental rights. I would prefer to see us retaining some mechanism where individuals will be able to manage the consent given.

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