Ivana Bacik (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Many of us raised the issue of the timescale for the banking inquiry when the matter was brought before the Committee on Procedure and Privileges, CPP. The Chair of the inquiry acknowledged that the date might be pushed back.

I welcome the announcement over the weekend that the Labour Party will propose a candidate in the Seanad by-election, following the very regrettable retirement of our colleague and friend, Jimmy Harte. I welcome the fact we have announced that we will propose Maíria Cahill. She is a really fine and wonderful candidate. I know my colleagues join me in that welcome.

I welcome the Startup Gathering. On Monday a series of over 400 events in five cities over five days started, led by the not-for-profit group Startup Ireland, supported by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, with the sponsorship of Bank of Ireland. I commend the Minister of State at the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Nash, who chairs the steering committee of the Startup Gathering, and wish them well in making progress on the Action Plan for Jobs arising out of this welcome initiative. I hope we will have an opportunity soon to again debate the Action Plan for Jobs and the concept of the Startup Gathering and the events that will have taken place.

Will the Leader arrange a debate soon on the role of the Data Protection Commissioner and the issue of digital privacy following today’s judgment by the European Court of Justice, ECJ, in the action taken by Max Schrems in the case against Facebook? This is a very significant judgment. Senators are aware of the lead-up to the judgment. The Austrian privacy campaigner, Max Schrems, took a case initially in the Irish courts and then to the ECJ in Luxembourg against the safe harbour agreement, the data transfer agreement between the European Commission and the US. He won his challenge today. There will be a press conference this afternoon hosted by the Vice President of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans, on the implications for the EU of this judgment. It will also have implications for Ireland. The matter is being remitted to the High Court here. The Data Protection Commissioner here has welcomed that move and the clarity offered by the ECJ. It has implications for the overall issue of data sharing between the EU and the US. I would like us to have a debate on that when the matter has been dealt with in the High Court.

I strongly condemn the dreadful attack on Kunduz Hospital in Afghanistan which killed staff of Médecins Sans Frontières, MSF, and patients. There were approximately 22 people killed, apparently by US airstrike. I join with others in calling for a full and transparent investigation into the circumstances of what MSF has described as a war crime.