Seanad debates

Thursday, 22 March 2018

Data Protection Bill 2018: Report Stage

 

10:30 am

Photo of Alice-Mary HigginsAlice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

We have much ground to cover today and we will move on to that shortly. Amendments Nos. 29 and 30 were an attempt to marry Article 9.2(d) with the provision set out by the Minister's Department in section 43. The language as to who is included is the language taken from section 43, which includes election candidates of every kind, Independent, party or otherwise.

I have taken the language used by the Minister's Department in the who does the processing element in section 43 and applied it to the who is processed element from Article 9.2(d). There is provision to perhaps have a better transposition of all of the spirit of Article 9.2(d), which would deal with those wider actors that were mentioned but for now I believe the concerns do not arise in respect of Independent candidates except as they arise potentially anyway under section 43.

The Minister drew on a recital in his initial speech around the functioning of democracy and so forth. It is the interpretation of such recitals which is perhaps justifying that slightly wider element but it is still in the spirit of Article 9.2(d).

Amendment No. 28 specifically relates to entities that are not not-for-profit bodies as envisaged under the GDPR but which are commercial entities and their role as actors in that context. That is a crucial amendment. In respect of the other amendments, I am happy to work with the Minister to see how we can marry Article 9.2(d) better with section 43.I have to press amendment No. 28 on the role of private and commercial actors. Does the Minister have any last thoughts on that and could he address the concern about amendment No. 39 which makes it the case that people will not have the capacity to object to the data on their political opinions being processed?

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