Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The purpose of the amendments in group 2, which are somewhat technical in nature, is twofold. The amendments to subsections (1) and (2) of section 3 provide that where an appropriate authority under the Civil Service Regulation Acts designates a civil servant as its controller, any action taken by a data subject to seek compensation and any administrative fine imposed by the data protection commission shall be taken against, or imposed on, the appropriate authority, rather than the designated civil servant. That is the purpose of amendments Nos. 2, 3, 89 and 96. These adjustments arise from the Seanad’s earlier acceptance of my proposal to permit the imposition of administrative fines, subject to a limit of €1 million, on public authorities and bodies for infringements of the GDPR.

Second, the purpose of amendment No. 4 is to insert a new subsection (3) into section 3, the text of which is carried over from section 1(3)(c) of the Data Protection Act 1988.