Government publishes General Scheme of Data Protection Bill

The General Scheme of a bill to enforce the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Data Protection Directive has been published.

The Data Protection Bill 2017 provides for the imposition of fines on public authorities under GDPR rules, transposes the Directive into law, and replaces the Data Protection Commissioner with a Data Protection Commission with up to three Commissioners.

Dara Murphy, minister of state for data protection, said: “Data protection concerns the right that we all have to the safeguarding of our personal information and its use, for the protection of our personal privacy. In the EU, the right to the protection of personal data is explicitly recognised in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.

“Government approval for the drafting of the Data Protection Bill 2017 is an important step in Ireland’s ongoing preparations to implement new EU data protection rules agreed last year. The rules will apply to all organisations, public or private, large or small, from May 2018, and are intended to encourage a cultural shift in how personal data is treated.

“Importantly, the Bill will include provisions to equip Ireland’s supervisory authority, the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner, with the means to supervise and enforce application of our new enhanced EU data protection standards. Once drafted and published, the Data Protection Bill 2017 will provide a unique legislative opportunity for Ireland to reinforce our robust regulatory environment – to protect individuals and to provide certainty for business and the public sector.

“Ahead of the May 2018 deadline, awareness-raising activities in Ireland and across the EU targeted at business and the voluntary sector are now beginning to intensify to help them to get ready.”