James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I assure the Senator that the Government takes this issue very seriously. As I informed him, the Government has shown its commitment by providing significant additional funding and staff resources to the Data Protection Commission over recent years. This was in recognition of the additional scope of responsibilities of the office. Its budget has increased from €3.6 million in 2015 to €16.9 million in 2020, which represents an almost five-fold increase. This is a very significant increase which will be put to use. That increase in budgetary provision further demonstrates the Government's continuing commitment to meeting the funding requirements of the Irish data protection authority and the importance of a strong regulatory data protection framework to underpin the continuing growth and expansion of Ireland's digital economy. The Data Protection Commission currently has 147 staff but this will increase to 180 by the end of this year, which is another significant increase in the number of staff provided to the Data Protection Commission.

The commission has underspent its budget by approximately €2.7 million as of the end of 2020. The full amount of any underspend to the end of the year will only be determined when the office carries out a full review of its non-pay expenditure for the remaining months of the year. While it is likely the underspend on payroll will exceed €2 million by the end of the year, this is mainly due to delays in recruitment and the full payroll budget will be required in 2021 in order to meet staffing targets, which should be fully met. I again assure Senators that the Government takes this issue extremely seriously.