Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail)
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103. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality her plans to regulate the private investigations sector; if she is concerned at the ability of private investigators to access private personal data in breach of data protection; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40532/14]

Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail)
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107. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the actions that arose out of the public consultation carried out by the Private Security Authority in May 2013 and subsequently concluded in June 2013 regarding the regulation of private investigators; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40536/14]

Dara Murphy (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 103 and 107 together.

The Private Security Authority (PSA), established under the Private Security Services Act 2004, as amended, is the statutory body responsible for the licensing and regulation of the private security industry. The PSA, an independent body under the remit of my Department, has adopted a phased approach to licensing and currently licences in the region of 960 contractors and 28,000 individuals in a range of sectors including Cash In Transit, Door Supervisor and Security Guarding.

I am aware of concerns at the modus operandiof some private investigators, as indicated by recent court cases taken by the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner. I am informed by the Authority that in preparation for the licensing of this particular sector, the PSA issued a questionnaire to gather information on the scope of the private investigator sector. The results of this consultation have now laid the foundations for the development of licensing in the area. Furthermore, the Authority's Strategic Plan 2014-2017 provides for the completion of a Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) on the licensing of private investigators. I am also informed by the Authority that this RIA is now at an advanced stage of development and will be completed before the year end. The Strategic Plan also provides for the licensing of contractors in the private investigator sector by the end of 2015 and the licensing of individuals in 2016.

Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail)
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104. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality her plans to introduce new legislation to update Irish data protection laws; if she is satisfied that the Data Protection Commissioner has the necessary resources to carry out the statutory functions outlined in data protection legislation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40533/14]

Dara Murphy (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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Following an extensive consultation process, in January 2012 the European Commission published proposals for a General Data Protection Regulation to replace the 1995 Data Protection Directive (Directive 95/46/EC) and proposals for a Directive on data protection in the police and criminal justice area to replace the 2008 Data Protection Framework Decision (Framework Decision 2008/977/JHA). These proposals are subject to co-decision between the Council and the European Parliament. While the Parliament has already adopted positions in respect of both instruments, the JHA Council has not yet reached agreement on all aspects of the Commission's proposals and expert-level discussions are ongoing under the current Italian Presidency of the Council.

Following completion of the co-decision procedure, it will be necessary to review the contents of the Data Protection Acts 1988 and 2003 in order to ensure compliance with the revised data protection standards in the new Regulation and Directive. While many of the Regulation's provisions will be directly applicable without the need for domestic legislation, the Directive's provisions may, depending on the final content, need to be transposed into domestic law. It is likely that some amendments to the 1988 and 2003 Acts will be required.

The Government strongly supports the important work of the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner. As indicated on previous occasions, it is the Government's intention to keep the resources of the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner under review in order to meet the increasing demands of this expanding sector. Following a Government Decision on 7 October, the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner will be upgraded to the status of a separate Office of State under the aegis of the Department of the Taoiseach. From 2015, the Office will have its own Vote, with increased resources to support these reforms. The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner will open a new office in Dublin in addition to the existing office in Portarlington.