Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I would love to tell the Deputy that I had the pleasure of reading the report on several occasions. However, I am not sure I would describe it as a pleasure. I have, however, read it several times. The Deputy is right that it is a comprehensive document which runs to some 170 pages, plus an annex. It is significantly different by some 40 pages and four findings from the draft report we received a year ago. As the Deputy knows having been a Minister in the Cabinet, the sharing of advice from the Attorney General in the public realm is not an established practice. The Attorney General has advised me and other senior Ministers on this issue. He has been involved in the process since 2017. To suggest they just got together several weeks ago to come up with some response is not a true reflection of the amount of work which went into the submissions, as well as the engagement between the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection and the Data Protection Commission. This is a comprehensive report on the back of a compressive review carried out by the Data Protection Commission. As I have said before, I have respect for the office and the individual who holds that office. I respect the position she holds. We just have a different opinion on the set of legal circumstances underpinning the legislation. There is a brief available to the Deputy who has been invited by the Secretary General on several occasions to attend the Department. That offer is still open.

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