Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)

I thank the Minister for that response. It is welcome to hear that his officials are engaging with the DPC on this and that the DPC is using the statutory powers. I am also glad that the Minister confirmed to me what I had said at the start which is that the DPC does have adequate statutory powers and that the issue is about the usage and application of those powers.

The Minister said that one of the brokers is based here in Ireland. That is welcome because clearly enforcement proceedings will be more straightforward. He said there is another in another EU country. He might clarify which EU country that is. It is vital that there is follow up here in relation to data brokers who are acting in flagrant disregard of GDPR and of our own data protection laws. However, individuals still have concerns. Appeals Centre Europe, which is based Ireland, issued a transparency report today. It says that only 78 eligible disputes emerged from Ireland between November 2024 and August 2025 and only 50 decisions have issued.

Given the widespread proliferation of online abuse, toxic language and horrible threats, it is extraordinary that so few decisions have been made by this body, which is supposed to be safeguarding citizens' rights. The decisions it makes are not even legally binding on platforms. What are the Government's plans to reassure citizens that our data will be private?

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