Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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295. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the status of the Data-Sharing and Governance Bill; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15651/18]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The Data Sharing and Governance Bill is a priority for the Government in the spring/summer legislation programme. The purpose of the Bill is to promote and encourage data sharing between public bodies by providing a statutory framework for data sharing for legitimate and clearly specified purposes that are compliant with data protection law; and to improve the protection of individual privacy rights by setting new governance standards for data sharing by public bodies.

Work on the drafting of the Bill is nearing completion. The text is currently undergoing quality assurance by the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel and I expect to be in a position to circulate the draft Bill to Government very shortly. Subject to approval by Government, I hope to publish the Bill in mid-May.