Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge the engagement from the Department, particularly from Séamus Carroll and others who have spent time teasing this out. I believe we will return to this area. There is a huge amount of work to be monitored. Like Senator Conway, I recognise that as people get used to the new regime, there will be a period of time when they struggle to figure out how to comply with it. While it is important for supports to be provided in such circumstances, it is also important for us to take this matter seriously. The existence of long processes should not mean that breaches do not have clear consequences down the line. We must struggle to make sure we get that balance right.

As a very passionate European, I think this is one of the most fundamentally important things that the member states of the EU have done together. The Minister of State, Deputy Breen, will recall that I have been very critical in this House of things like EU trade policy and the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement. We have had disagreements about things like permanent structured co-operation in the past. The implementation of the GDPR is a strong signal of what the EU should be, which is a space where we co-operate, protect and engage our citizens. As legislators, we need to ensure we can create spaces of empowerment of citizens. We should not simply be subject to the overflow of corporate or market forces. We need to be able to set down markers regarding what constitutes appropriate use of data and what is acceptable in the spaces we share. I think this is a really important marker. I look forward to continuing to engage with everyone in the House on this issue in the future.