THE GOVERNMENT HAS announced its plans to tackle data protection issues.
Dara Murphy, the junior minister with responsibility for data protection, said that the Government today “agreed measures aimed at ensuring that Ireland’s approach to data protection in the digital economy is ‘best in class’ globally”.
Murphy said that the Government’s data protection ‘roadmap’ will include giving the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner its own vote (similar to the Central Statistics Office) under the aegis of the Department of the Taoiseach.
He stated that this would “further underline the independent role of the Data Protection Commissioner”.
The junior minister said that he would seek to establish a DPC office in Dublin, in addition to the existing premises in Portarlington, Co Laois.
In July, Murphy was appointed Junior Minister at the Departments of the Taoiseach and Foreign Affairs and Trade, with special responsibility for European Affairs and Data Protection.
In the Dáil today, Enda Kenny announced that Murphy had also been assigned to the Department of Justice and Equality in relation to his data protection role.
He will oversee the implementation of the data protection plans and chair an inter-departmental committee on data issues.
Murphy said that the Government must be ”a vigorous participant in dialogue with business, the public sector, civil society, academic and legal experts and others on societal issues arising from the continuing growth in personal data usage and technology”.
The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner was established under the 1988 Data Protection Act, legislation that was updated in 2003.
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