Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Ruane for moving the amendments. We had a good discussion the last day and it is regrettable that Senator Higgins is not here. I have good news for Senator Ruane. In principle, in respect of amendments Nos. 20, 21 and 22, with some technical changes to the wording, we are agreeable in principle to what the Senator has outlined. I will take these away and consider them in tandem with the Office of the Attorney General between now and Report Stage.

In amendment No. 22a, the Senator is proposing to insert a reference to the necessity and proportionality of the data sharing required to provide the information that data subjects may request from the portal. The proposed amendment follows on from similar wording the Senator has proposed in amendments Nos. 13 and 16. The purpose of the data portal is to make it easier for citizens to exercise their rights under Articles 15 to 21, inclusive, of the GDPR. These articles give strong rights to the data subject to access his or her data, to have it rectified or erased if appropriate and to restrict or object to the processing of the data.

As worded, the amendment proposed would appear to have the effect of requiring public bodies to apply a necessity and proportionality test in deciding whether to provide information the data subject has sought through the portal. This would be incompatible with the GDPR and I am sure that was not the intention. Accordingly, I cannot accept the amendment and I ask the Senator to consider withdrawing it and rewording it. However, having reflected on this and other points the Senator has made in respect of amendments Nos. 13 and 16 last week, as well as this amendment, I think the Senator's concerns can be addressed by adding a requirement for public bodies to make a formal undertaking to abide by the principles of data protection as set out in Article 5 of the GDPR. This could be added to the list of requirements for the data sharing agreement in section 18 and I propose to make an amendment to that effect on Report Stage.