Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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564. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the Minister with responsibility for data protection. [17358/20]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The Data Protection Commission (DPC) is the national independent authority responsible for upholding the fundamental right of individuals in the EU to have their personal data protected. The DPC is the Irish supervisory authority for the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and also has functions and powers related to other important regulatory frameworks including the Irish ePrivacy Regulations (2011) and the EU Directive known as the Law Enforcement Directive.

The Data Protection Commission (DPC) is governed by a number of legislative frameworks, as outlined below:

- General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

- Data Protection Act 2018

- the “Law Enforcement Directive” (Directive (EU) 2016/680) which has been transposed into Irish law by way of the Data Protection Act 2018

- the Data Protection Acts 1988 and 2003

- the 2011 “ePrivacy Regulations” (S.I. No. 336 of 2011 – the European Communities (Electronic Communications Networks and Services) (Privacy And Electronic Communications) Regulations 2011)

By law, the DPC has always been an entirely independent body in how it delivers its regulatory tasks, including being independent of the Government. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) also requires that the DPC has complete independence.