Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank all the Members of both Houses for their input into this Bill. There was a great deal of engagement in both Houses when I took part of the debate for the Minister, Deputy Flanagan. A lot of work has gone into the Bill to ensure we get the best possible Act.

In response to Senator Conway, I have engaged a great deal with the Data Protection Commissioner and her team in many areas, particularly to ensure that not only companies but also organisations, agencies, etc., would be compliant with GDPR on 25 May.I do not have any issue with many of the big companies out there. They will be GDPR-compliant because they have data protection officers, etc. I am always concerned about small and medium-sized enterprises and micro-enterprises. During the period leading up to 25 May, we have had a number of engagements and meetings around the country. For example, we have engaged with the GAA, which was mentioned by Senator Conway. Representatives of all the umbrella bodies for all the sporting organisations were brought into the Department of the Taoiseach for a meeting which was attended by officials from the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner. When the representatives of the various organisations left the Department after a serious three-hour engagement, they were very happy with the information they had received from the assistant data commissioners.

Senator Conway also mentioned other sporting organisations. We are very conscious of their concerns. We engaged with representatives of many sporting organisations from around the country at a meeting in the Federation of Irish Sport complex in Blanchardstown a few weeks ago. Most of the organisations - I will not go through them all, but they were all there - were very happy with the information they received from the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner. That engagement is extremely important. The Data Protection Commissioner and her team have gone all over the country to speak to organisations. The idea of a hotline has been proposed by Senator Conway. I think it is worth considering.