Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

We reflected on this and sought legal advice on it. I asked my team to consider whether we would table an amendment to take account of the position outlined by Senator Higgins. It was very much the view that the requirements of the general data protection regulation, GDPR, mean an employer must destroy records when it no longer has a legal basis for holding them. That is now the position under EU and domestic law. We believe that is the position that will apply under this legislation.

It is also worth saying there is at least a possibility that compelling destruction after a certain time may disadvantage an employee who left the workplace, particularly if he or she sought to take a workplace relations action against the employer. For example, if an employee is fired or leaves employment, under the provision the Senator is bringing forward, the employer is immediately obliged to destroy the relevant records and, therefore, some records will be missing in respect of a potential workplace relations case. I know the Senator is not suggesting this, but it could be a godsend to bad employers if they have to destroy employee records as soon as employees are dismissed. We will use the GDPR provisions, which are the recognised provisions.