Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Senator Higgins has answered her own question. The words "the essence of" are included in the corresponding provisions of the GDPR so excluding the words in these sections would create an unacceptable divergence between the GDPR and the provisions in Part 5 in terms of the transposition of the directive. These words are used to convey the idea that the essential, appropriate, necessary and indispensable aspects of the right to data protection must be respected in all cases. As a consequence of saying that, I believe the words "the essence of" are appropriate. I accept what Senator Higgins has said, which is that any divergence would be problematic. I believe it is important that we ensure that we do not have the type of divergence that might otherwise be the case.