Seanad debates

Thursday, 22 March 2018

Data Protection Bill 2018: Report Stage

 

10:30 am

Photo of Charles FlanaganCharles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am not in a position to accept these amendments. I point to section 145 of the Bill, which adequately deals with this issue and provides in an appropriate manner for the publication of convictions and certain other sanctions.

Amendment No. 7 would require the Data Protection Commission to publish in its annual report a list of controllers and processors who have been found to be in breach of the legislation. Section 145 already requires the commission to publish particulars of all serious breaches of data protection law, including all cases in which an administrative fine has been imposed. Section 145 also enables the commission at its discretion to publish details of less serious infringements where it exercises a corrective power. The section also leaves it to the commission to decide how this information is to be published. It could decide for example to publish such material in an ongoing basis on the commission's website, in advance of or outside of the annual report.

Amendment No. 65 would require the commission to publish details of all decisions reached in complaint cases. This would be unduly burdensome. It would be an obligation that would be cumbersome, having regard to the fact that in 2017 almost 2,600 complaints were concluded by the Data Protection Commission. Annual reports of the commissioner over the years have contained summaries of interesting cases, cases that from time to time would be regarded by the commission - the authors of the report - as being very much in the public interest or those also involving unprecedented or perhaps novel instances or aspects of the data protection law. This is also in line with other bodies or offices, such as the Ombudsman's report.

I am of the view that this approach is more effective and perhaps more useful than publishing a full list of decisions taken. I will not accept these amendments for these reasons.

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