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Data Protection Acts 1988 and 2003:
Informal Consolidation
IMPORTANT NOTICE
This document is an informal consolidation of the Data Protection Acts 1988 and 2003, prepared by the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner. It includes amendments to these Acts made by SI 535 of 2003 (the Electronic Privacy Regulations). It also includes references to Statutory Instruments made under the Acts. It is not a legal document and should only be used as an informal guide to the legislation.
A pdf version of this document is also available here for download.
1. Interpretation and application of Act.
Protection of Privacy of Individuals with regard to personal data
2. Collection, processing, keeping, use and disclosure of personal data.
2A. Processing of Personal Data
2B. Processing of Sensitive Personal Data
2C. Security Measures for Personal Data
2D. Fair Processing of Personal data
3. Right to establish existence of personal data
4. Right of access.
5. Restriction of right of access.
6. Right of rectification or erasure.
6A. Right of data subject to object to processing likely to cause damage or distress
6B. Rights in relation to automated decision making
7. Duty of care owed by data controllers and data processors.
8. Processing of personal data in certain cases
THE DATA PROTECTION COMMISSIONER
9. The Commissioner
10. Enforcement of data protection
11. Restriction on transfer of personal data outside State
12. Power to require information
12A. Prior Checking of Processing by Commissioner
13. Codes of practice
14. Annual report
15. Mutual assistance between parties to Convention
REGISTRATION
16. The register
17. Applications for registration
18. Duration and continuance of registration
19. Effect of registration
20. Regulations for registration
MISCELLANEOUS
21. Unauthorised disclosure by data processor
22. Disclosure of personal data obtained without authority
22A. Journalism, literature and Art
23. [Deleted by 2003 Act]
24. Powers of authorised officers
25. Service of notices
26. Appeals to Circuit Court
27. Evidence in proceedings
28. Hearing of proceedings
29. Offences by directors, etc., of bodies corporate
30. Prosecution of summary offences by Commissioner
31. Penalties
32. Laying of regulations before Houses of Oireachtas .
33. Fees
34. Expenses of Minister
35. Short title and commencement
36. Data Protection Amendments Act 2003
FIRST SCHEDULE: COUNCIL OF EUROPE CONVENTION ON DATA PROTECTION
SECOND SCHEDULE: THE DATA PROTECTION COMMISSIONER
DATA PROTECTION ACTS, 1988 AND 2003
AN ACT TO GIVE EFFECT TO THE CONVENTION FOR THE PROTECTION OF INDIVIDUALS WITH REGARD TO AUTOMATIC PROCESSING OF PERSONAL DATA DONE AT STRASBOURG ON THE 28TH DAY OF JANUARY, 1981, AND FOR THAT PURPOSE TO REGULATE IN ACCORDANCE WITH ITS PROVISIONS THE COLLECTION, PROCESSING, KEEPING, USE AND DISCLOSURE OF CERTAIN INFORMATION RELATING TO INDIVIDUALS THAT IS PROCESSED AUTOMATICALLY. [1988 Act]
AN ACT TO GIVE EFFECT TO DIRECTIVE 95/46/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL OF 24 OCTOBER 1995 ON THE PROTECTION OF INDIVIDUALS WITH REGARD TO THE PROCESSING OF PERSONAL DATA AND ON THE FREE MOVEMENT OF SUCH DATA, FOR THAT PURPOSE TO AMEND THE DATA PROTECTION ACT, 1988,AND TO PROVIDE FOR RELATED MATTERS.[2003 Act]
1. Interpretation and application of Act.
1.-(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires-
”the Act of 2003” means the Data Protection (Amendment) Act, 2003;
"appropriate authority" has the meaning assigned to it by the Civil Service Regulation Acts, 1956 and 1958;
“automated data” means information that -
(a) is being processed by means of equipment operating automatically in response to
instructions given for that purpose, or
(b) is recorded with the intention that it should be processed by means of such equipment;
"back-up data" means data kept only for the purpose of replacing other data in the event of their being lost, destroyed or damaged;
“blocking”, in relation to data, means so marking the data that it is not possible to process it for purposes in relation to which it is marked;
"civil servant" has the meaning assigned to it by the Civil Service Regulation Acts, 1956 and 1958;
"the Commissioner" has the meaning assigned to it by section 9 of this Act;
"company" has the meaning assigned to it by the Companies Act, 1963;
"the Convention" means the Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data done at Strasbourg on the 28th day of January, 1981, the text of which is set out in the First Schedule to this Act;
“the Court" means the Circuit Court;
“data” means automated data and manual data;
"data controller" means a person who, either alone or with others, controls the contents and use of personal data;
"data equipment" means equipment for processing data;
"data material" means any document or other material used in connection with, or produced by, data equipment;
"data processor" means a person who processes personal data on behalf of a data controller but does not include an employee of a data controller who processes such data in the course of his employment;
"data subject" means an individual who is the subject of personal data;
“the Directive” means Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data;
“direct marketing” includes direct mailing other than direct mailing carried out in the course of political activities by a political party or its members, or a body established by or under statute or a candidate for election to, or a holder of, elective political office;
"disclosure", in relation to personal data, includes the disclosure of information extracted from such data and the transfer of such data but does not include a disclosure made directly or indirectly by a data controller or a data processor to an employee or agent of his for the purpose of enabling the employee or agent to carry out his duties; and, where the identifica-tion of a data subject depends partly on the data and partly on other information in the pos-session of the data controller, the data shall not be regarded as disclosed unless the other in-formation is also disclosed;
“the EEA Agreement” means the Agreement on the European Economic Area signed at Oporto on 2 May 1992 as adjusted by the Protocol signed at Brussels on 17 March 1993;
”enactment” means a statute or a statutory instrument (within the meaning of the Interpreta-tion Act, 1937);
“the European Economic Area” has the meaning assigned to it by the EEA Agreement;
“enforcement notice" means a notice under section 10 of this Act;
"financial institution" means-
(a) a person who holds or has held a licence under section 9 of the Central Bank Act, 1971, or
(b) a person referred to in section 7(4) of that Act;
"information notice" means a notice under section 12 of this Act;
"local authority" means a local authority for the purposes of the Local Government Act, 1941;
“manual data” means information that is recorded as part of a relevant filing system or with the intention that it should form part of a relevant filing system;
"the Minister" means the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform;
“personal data” means data relating to a living individual who is or can be identified either from the data or from the data in conjunction with other information that is in, or is likely to come into, the possession of the data controller;
"prescribed", in the case of fees, means prescribed by regulations made by the Minister with the consent of the Minister for Finance and, in any other case, means prescribed by regula-tions made by the Commissioner with the consent of the Minister;
”the Principal Act” means the Data Protection Act 1988;
“processing”, of or in relation to information or data, means performing any operation or set of operations on the information or data, whether or not by automatic means, including -
(a) obtaining, recording or keeping the information, or data
(b) collecting, organising, storing, altering or adapting the information or data,
(c) retrieving, consulting or using the information or data,
(d) disclosing the information or data by transmitting, disseminating or otherwise making it available, or
(e) aligning, combining, blocking, erasing or destroying the information or data;
"prohibition notice" means a notice under section 11 of this Act;
"the register" means the register established and maintained under section 16 of this Act;
“relevant filing system” means any set of information relating to individuals to the extent that, although the information is not processed by means of equipment operating
automatically in response to instructions given for that purpose, the set is structured, either
by reference to individuals or by reference to criteria relating to individuals, in such a way that specific information relating to a particular individual is readily accessible;
“sensitive personal data” means personal data as to -
(a) the racial or ethnic origin, the political opinions or the religious or philosophical beliefs
of the data subject,
(b) whether the data subject is a member of a trade-union,
(c) the physical or mental health or condition or sexual life of the data subject,
(d) the commission or alleged commission of any offence by the data subject, or
(e) any proceedings for an offence committed or alleged to have been committed by the data
subject, the disposal of such proceedings or the sentence of any court in such proceedings.
and any cognate words shall be construed accordingly.
(2) For the purposes of this Act, data are inaccurate if they are incorrect or misleading as to any matter of fact.
(3) (a) An appropriate authority, being a data controller or a data processor, may, as respects all or part of the personal data kept by the authority, designate a civil servant in relation to whom it is the appropriate authority to be a data controller or a data processor and, while the designation is in force-
(i) the civil servant so designated shall be deemed, for the purposes of this Act, to be a data controller or, as the case may be, a data processor, and
(ii) this Act shall not apply to the authority,
as respects the data concerned.
(b) Without prejudice to paragraph (a) of this subsection, the Minister for Defence may, as
respects all or part of the personal data kept by him in relation to the Defence Forces,
designate an officer of the Permanent Defence Force who holds a commissioned rank
therein to be a data controller or a data processor and, while the designation is in force-
(i) the officer so designated shall be deemed, for the purposes of this Act, to be a data
controller or, as the case may be, a data processor, and
(ii) this Act shall not apply to the Minister for Defence, as respects the data concerned.
(c) For the purposes of this Act, as respects any personal data-
(i) where a designation by the relevant appropriate authority under paragraph (a) of this subsection is not in force, a civil servant in relation to whom that authority is the appropriate authority shall be deemed to be its employee and, where such a designation is in force, such a civil servant (other than the civil servant the subject of the designation) shall be deemed to be an employee of the last men-tioned civil servant,
(ii) where a designation under paragraph (b) of the subsection is not in force, a mem-ber of the Defence Forces shall be deemed to be an employee of the Minister for Defence and, where such a designation is in force, such a member (other than the officer the subject of the designation) shall be deemed to be an em-ployee of that officer, and
(iii) a member of the Garda Síochána (other than the Commissioner of the Garda Síochána) shall be deemed to be an employee of the said Commissioner.
(3A) A word or expression that is used in this Act and also in the Directive has, unless the context otherwise requires, the same meaning in this Act as it has in the Directive.
(3B) (a) Subject to any regulations under section 15(2) of this Act, this Act applies to data
controllers in respect of the processing of personal data only if -
(i) the data controller is established in the State and the data are processed in the context of
that establishment, or
(ii) the data controller is established neither in the State nor in any other state that is a
contracting party to the EEA Agreement but makes use of equipment in the State for
processing the data otherwise than for the purpose of transit through the territory of the
State.
(b) For the purposes of paragraph (a) of this subsection each of the following shall be treated
as established in the State:
(i) an individual who is normally resident in the State,
(ii) a body incorporated under the law of the State,
iii) a partnership or other unincorporated association formed under the law of the State, and
(iv)a person who does not fall within subparagraphs (i),(ii) or (iii) of this paragraph but
maintains in the State -
(I) an office, branch or agency through which he or she carries on any activity, or
(II) a regular practice,
and the reference to establishment in any other state that is a contracting party to the
EEA Agreement shall be construed accordingly.
(c) A data controller to whom paragraph (a) (ii) of this subsection applies must, without prejudice to any legal proceedings that could be commenced against the data controller, des-ignate a representative established in the State.
(3C)Section 2 and sections 2A and 2B (which sections were inserted by the Act of 2003) of this Act shall not apply to
(a) data kept solely for the purpose of historical research, or
(b) other data consisting of archives or departmental records (within the meaning in each case of the National Archives Act 1986), -
and the keeping of which complies with such requirements (if any) as may be prescribed
for the purpose of safeguarding the fundamental rights and freedoms of data subjects.
(4) This Act does not apply to-
(a) personal data that in the opinion of the Minister or the Minister for Defence are, or at any
time were, kept for the purpose of safeguarding the security of the State,
(b) personal data consisting of information that the person keeping the data is required by law
to make available to the public, or
(c) personal data kept by an individual and concerned only with the management of his
personal, family or household affairs or kept by an individual only for recreational purposes.
(5) (a) A right conferred by this Act shall not prejudice the exercise of a right conferred by the Freedom of Information Act 1997.
(b) The Commissioner and the Information Commissioner shall, in the performance of their functions, co-operate with and provide assistance to each other.
Protection of Privacy of Individuals with regard to Personal Data
2. Collection, processing, keeping, use and disclosure of personal data.
2.-(1) A data controller shall, as respects personal data kept by him or her, comply with the following provisions:
(a) the data or, as the case may be, the information constituting the data shall have been
obtained, and the data shall be processed, fairly
(b) the data shall be accurate and complete and, where necessary, kept up to date,
(c) the data-
(i) shall have been obtained only for one or more specified, explicit and legitimate
purposes,
(ii) shall not be further processed in a manner incompatible with that purpose or those
purposes,
(iii) shall be adequate, relevant and not excessive in relation to the purpose or purposes for
which they were collected or are further processed, and
(iv) shall not be kept for longer than is necessary for that purpose or those purposes,
(d) appropriate security measures shall be taken against unauthorised access to, or
unauthorised alteration, disclosure or destruction of, the data, in particular where the
processing involves the transmission of data over a network, and against all other unlawful
forms of processing.
(2) A data processor shall, as respects personal data processed by him, comply with para-graph (d) of subsection (1) of this section.
(3) Paragraph (a) of the said subsection (1) does not apply to information intended for inclu-sion in data, or to data, kept for a purpose mentioned in section 5 (1) (a) of this Act, in any case in which the application of that paragraph to the data would be likely to prejudice any of the matters mentioned in the said section 5 (1) (a).
(4) Paragraph (b) of the said subsection (1) does not apply to back-up data.
(5) (a) Subparagraphs (ii) and (iv) of paragraph (c) of the said subsection (1) do not apply to
personal data kept for statistical or research or other scientific purposes, and the keeping of
which complies with such requirements (if any) as may be prescribed for the purpose of
safeguarding the fundamental rights and freedoms of data subjects, and
(b) the data or, as the case may be, the information constituting such data shall not be
regarded for the purposes of paragraph (a) of the said subsection as having been obtained
unfairly by reason only that its use for any such purpose was not disclosed when it was
obtained, if the data are not used in such a way that damage or distress is, or is likely to be,
caused to any data subject,
(6) [deleted 2003 Act]
(7) Where-
(a) personal data are kept for the purpose of direct marketing, and
(b) the data subject concerned requests the data controller in writing –
(i) not to process the data for that purpose, or
(ii) to cease processing the data for that purpose,
then -
(I) if the request is under paragraph (b) (i) of this subsection, the data controller-
(A) shall, where the data are kept only for the purpose aforesaid, as soon as may be and in
any event not more than 40 days after the request has been given or sent to him or her,
erase the data, and
(B) shall not, where the data are kept for that purpose and other purposes, process the data
for that purpose after the expiration of the period aforesaid,
(II) if the request is under paragraph (b) (ii) of this subsection, as soon as may be and in
any event not more than 40 days after the request has been given or sent to the data
controller, he or she -
(A) shall, where the data are kept only for the purpose aforesaid, erase the data, and
(B) shall, where the data are kept for that purpose and other purposes, cease processing the
data for that purpose,
and
(III) the data controller shall notify the data subject in writing accordingly and, where
appropriate, inform him or her of those other purposes.
(8) Where a data controller anticipates that personal data, including personal data that is re-quired by law to be made available to the public, kept by him or her will be processed for the purposes of direct marketing, the data controller shall inform the persons to whom the data relates that they may object, by means of a request in writing to the data controller and free of charge, to such processing.
2A. Processing of Personal Data
2A - (1) Personal data shall not be processed by a data controller unless section 2 of this Act (as amended by the Act of 2003) is complied with by the data controller and at least one of the following conditions is met:
(a) the data subject has given his or her consent to the processing or, if the data subject, by reason of his or her physical or mental incapacity or age, is or is likely to be unable to appre-ciate the nature and effect of such consent, it is given by a parent or guardian or a grandpar-ent, uncle, aunt, brother or sister of the data subject and the giving of such consent is not pro-hibited by law,
(b) the processing is necessary -
(i) for the performance of a contract to which the data subject is a party,
(ii) in order to take steps at the request of the data subject prior to entering into a contract,
(iii) for compliance with a legal obligation to which the data controller is subject other than an obligation imposed by contract, or
(iv) to prevent -
(I) injury or other damage to the health of the data subject, or
(II) serious loss or damage to property of the data subject,
or otherwise to protect his or her vital interests where the seeking of the consent of the data subject or another person referred to in paragraph (a) of this subsection is likely to result in those interests being damaged,
(c) the processing is necessary -
(i) for the administration of justice,
(ii) for the performance of a function conferred on a person by or under an enactment,
(iii) for the performance of a function of the Government or a Minister of the Government,
(iv) for the performance of any other function of a public nature performed in the public
interest by a person,
(d) the processing is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by the
data controller or by a third party or parties to whom the data are disclosed, except where
the processing is unwarranted in any particular case by reason of prejudice to the
fundamental rights and freedoms or legitimate interests of the data subject.
(2) The Minister may, after consultation with the Commissioner, by regulations specify
particular circumstances in which subsection (1) (d) of this section is, or is not, to be taken
as satisfied.
2B. Processing of Sensitive Personal Data
2B- (1) Sensitive personal data shall not be processed by a data controller unless
(a) section 2 and 2A (as amended and inserted, respectively, by the Act of 2003) are complied
with, and
(b) in addition, at least one of the following conditions is met:
(i) the consent referred to in paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 2A (as inserted by the
Act of 2003) of this Act is explicitly given,
(ii) the processing is necessary for the purpose of exercising or performing any right or
obligation which is conferred or imposed by law on the data controller in connection with
employment,
(iii) the processing is necessary to prevent injury or other damage to the health of the data
subject or another person or serious loss in respect of, or damage to, property or otherwise
to protect the vital interests of the data subject or of another person in a case where -
(I) consent to the processing cannot be given by or on behalf of the data subject in
accordance with section 2A (1) (a) (inserted by the Act of 2003) of this Act, or
(II) the data controller cannot reasonably be expected to obtain such consent, or the
processing is necessary to prevent injury to, or damage to the health of, another person,
or serious loss in respect of or damage to, the property of another person, in a case where such consent has been unreasonably withheld
(iv) the processing -
(I) is carried out in the course of its legitimate activities by any body corporate, or
unincorporated body of persons, that -
(A) is not established, and whose activities are not carried on, for profit, and
(B) exists for political, philosophical, religious or trade-union purposes,
(II) is carried out with appropriate safeguards for the fundamental rights and freedoms of
data subjects,
(III) relates only to individuals who either are members of the body or have regular contact
with it in connection with its purposes, and
(IV) does not involve disclosure of the data to a third party without the consent of the data
subjects,
(v) the information contained in the data has been made public as result of steps deliberately
taken by the data subject,
(vi) the processing is necessary -
(1) for the administration of justice,
(11) for the performance of a function conferred on a person by or under an enactment, or
(111) for the performance of a function of the Government or a Minister of the Government,
(vii) the processing –
(I) is required for the purpose of obtaining legal advice or for the purposes of, or in
connection with, legal proceedings or prospective legal proceedings, or
(II) is otherwise necessary for the purposes of establishing, exercising or defending legal
rights,
(viii) the processing is necessary for medical purposes and is undertaken by -
(I) a health professional, or
(II) a person who in the circumstances owes a duty of confidentiality to the data subject that is equivalent to that which would exist if that person were a health professional,
(ix) the processing is necessary in order to obtain information for use, subject to and in
accordance with the Statistics Act, 1993, only for statistical, compilation and analysis
purposes,
(x) the processing is carried out by political parties, or candidates for election to, or holders
of, elective political office in the course of electoral activities for the purpose of compiling
data on people’s political opinions and complies with such requirements (if any) as may be
prescribed for the purpose of safeguarding the fundamental rights and freedoms of data
subjects
(xi) the processing is authorised by regulations that are made by the Minister and are made
for reasons of substantial public interest,
(xii) the processing is necessary for the purpose of the assessment, collection or payment of any tax, duty, levy or other moneys owed or payable to the State and the data has been pro-vided by the data subject solely for that purpose,
(xiii) the processing is necessary for the purposes of determining entitlement to or control of, or any other purpose connected with the administration of any benefit, pension, assistance, al-lowance, supplement or payment under the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act 1993, or any non-statutory scheme administered by the Minister for Social, Community and Family Af-fairs.
(2) The Minister may by regulations, made after consultation with the Commissioner, -
(a) exclude the application of subsection (1) (b) (ii) of this section in such cases as may be specified, or
(b) provide that, in such cases as may be specified, the condition in the said subsection
(1)(b)(ii) is not to be regarded as satisfied unless such further conditions as may be specified
in the regulations are also satisfied.
(3) The Minister may by regulations make such provision as he considers appropriate for the protection of data subjects in relation to the processing of personal data as to -
(a) the commission or alleged commission of any offence by data subjects,
(b) any proceedings for an offence committed or alleged to have been committed by data sub-jects, the disposal of such proceedings or the sentence of any court in such proceedings,
(c) any act or omission or alleged act or omission of data subjects giving rise to administra-tive sanctions,
(d) any civil proceedings in a court or other tribunal to which data subjects are parties or any judgement, order or decision of such a tribunal in any such proceedings,
and processing of personal data shall be in compliance with any regulations under this sub-section.
(4) In this section -
‘health professional’ includes a registered medical practitioner, within the meaning of the Medical Practitioners Act, 1978, a registered dentist, within the meaning of the Dentists Act, 1985, or a member of any other class of health worker or social worker standing specified by regulations made by the Minister after consultation with the Minister for Health and Children and any other Minister of the Government who, having regard to his or her functions, ought, in the opinion of the Minister, to be consulted;
‘medical purposes’ includes the purpose of preventive medicine, medical diagnosis,
medical research, the provision of care and treatment and the management of healthcare
services.
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2C. Security Measures for Personal Data
2C.- (1) In determining appropriate security measures for the purposes of section 2(1)(d) of this Act, in particular (but without prejudice to the generality of that provision), where the processing involves the transmission of data over a network, a data controller -
(a) may have regard to the state of technological development and the cost of implementing the measures, and
(b) shall ensure that the measures provide a level of security appropriate to -
(i) the harm that might result from unauthorised or unlawful processing, accidental or
unlawful destruction or accidental loss of, or damage to, the data concerned, and
(ii) the nature of the data concerned.
(2) A data controller or data processor shall take all reasonable steps to ensure that -
(a) persons employed by him or her, and
(b) other persons at the place of work concerned,
are aware of and comply with the relevant security measures aforesaid.
(3) Where processing of personal data is carried out by a data processor on behalf of a data controller, the data controller shall
(a) ensure that the processing is carried out in pursuance of a contract in writing or in another equivalent form between the data controller and the data processor and that the contract pro-vides that the data processor carries out the processing only on and subject to the instructions of the data controller and that the data processor complies with obligations equivalent to those imposed on the data controller by section 2(1) (d) of this Act,
(b) ensure that the data processor provides sufficient guarantees in respect of the technical
security measures, and organisational measures, governing the processing, and
(c) take reasonable steps to ensure compliance with those measures
2D. Fair Processing of Personal data.
2D. - (1) Personal data shall not be treated, for the purposes of section 2(1) (a) of this Act, as processed fairly unless -
(a) in the case of data obtained from the data subject, the data controller ensures, so far as
practicable, that the data subject has, is provided with, or has made readily available to him
or her, at least the information specified in subsection (2) of this section,
(b) in any other case, the data controller ensures, so far as practicable, that the data subject
has, is provided with, or has made readily available to him or her, at least the information
specified in subsection (3) of this section -
(i) not later than the time when the data controller first processes the data, or
(ii) if disclosure of the data to a third party is envisaged, not later than the time of such
disclosure.
(2)The information referred to in subsection (1) (a) of this section is:
(a) the identity of the data controller,
(b) if he or she has nominated a representative for the purposes of this Act, the identity of the
representative,
(c) the purpose or purposes for which the data are intended to be processed, and
(d) any other information which is necessary, having regard to the specific circumstances in
which the data are or are to be processed, to enable processing in respect of the data to be
fair to the data subject such as information as to the recipients or categories of recipients of
the data, as to whether replies to questions asked for the purpose of the collection of the data
are obligatory, as to the possible consequences of failure to give such replies and as to the
existence of the right of access to and the right to rectify the data concerning him or her.
(3) The information referred to in subsection (1) (b) of this section is:
(a) the information specified in subsection (2) of this section,
(b) the categories of data concerned, and
(c) the name of the original data controller.
(4) The said subsection (1) (b) does not apply -
(a) where, in particular for processing for statistical purposes or for the purposes of
historical or scientific research, the provision of the information specified therein proves
impossible or would involve a disproportionate effort, or
(b) in any case where the processing of the information contained or to be contained in the
data by the data controller is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which the
data controller is subject other than an obligation imposed by contract, if such conditions as may be prescribed by regulations made by the Minister are complied with.
3. Right to establish existence of personal data.
3. An individual who believes that a person keeps personal data shall, if he so requests the person in writing-
(a) be informed by the person whether he keeps any such data, and
(b) if he does, be given by the person a description of the data and the purposes for which
they are kept, as soon as may be and in any event not more than 21 days after the request has
been given or sent to him.
4. (1) (a) Subject to the provisions of this Act, an individual shall, if he or she so requests a
data controller by notice in writing-
(i) be informed by the data controller whether the data processed by or on behalf of the data controller include personal data relating to the individual,
(ii) if it does, be supplied by the data controller with a description of -
(I) the categories of data being processed by or on behalf of the data controller,
(II)`the personal data constituting the data of which that individual is the data subject,
(III) the purpose or purposes of the processing, and
(IV) the recipients or categories of recipients to whom the data are or may be disclosed,
(iii) have communicated to him or her in intelligible form -
(I) the information constituting any personal data of which that individual is the data
subject and
(II) any information known or available to the data controller as to the source of those data unless the communication of the information is contrary to the public interest,
and
(iv) where the processing by automatic means of the data of which the individual is the data subject has constituted or is likely to constitute the sole basis for any decision signifi-cantly affecting him or her, be informed free of charge by the data controller of the logic involved in the processing,
as soon as may be and in any event not more than 40 days after compliance by the individ-ual with the provisions of this section and, where any of the information is expressed in terms that are not intelligible to the average person without explanation, the information shall be accompanied by an explanation of those terms.
(b) A request under paragraph (a) of this subsection that does not relate to all of its
subparagraphs shall, in the absence of any indication to the contrary, be treated as relating
to all of them.
(c)(i) A fee may be payable to the data controller concerned in respect of such a request as
aforesaid and the amount thereof shall not exceed such amount as may be prescribed or an
amount that in the opinion of the Commissioner is reasonable, having regard to the estimated
cost to the data controller of compliance with the request, whichever is the lesser.
(ii) A fee paid by an individual to a data controller under subparagraph (i) of this paragraph
shall be returned to him if his request is not complied with or the data controller rectifies or
supplements, or erases part of, the data concerned (and thereby materially modifies the data)
or erases all of the data on the application of the individual or in accordance with an
enforcement notice or an order of a court.
(2) Where pursuant to provision made in that behalf under this Act there are separate entries in the register in respect of data kept by a data controller for different purposes, subsection (1) of this section shall apply as if it provided for the making of a separate request and the payment of a separate fee in respect of the data to which each entry relates.
(3) An individual making a request under this section shall supply the data controller con-cerned with such information as he may reasonably require in order to satisfy himself of the identity of the individual and to locate any relevant personal data or information.
(4) Nothing in subsection (1) of this section obliges a data controller to disclose to a data sub-ject personal data relating to another individual unless that other individual has consented to the disclosure:
Provided that, where the circumstances are such that it would be reasonable for the data
controller to conclude that, if any particulars identifying that other individual were omitted,
the data could then be disclosed as aforesaid without his being thereby identified to the data
subject, the data controller shall be obliged to disclose the data to the data subject with the
omission of those particulars.
(4A)(a) Where personal data relating to a data subject consists of an expression of opinion about the data subject by another person, the data may be disclosed to the data subject without obtaining the consent of that person to the disclosure.
(b) Paragraph (a) of this subsection does not apply -
(i) to personal data held by or on behalf of the person in charge of an institution re-ferred to in section 5(1)(c) of this Act and consisting of an expression of opin-ion by another person about the data subject if the data subject is being or was detained in such an institution, or
(ii) if the expression of opinion referred to in that paragraph was given in confidence or on the understanding that it could be treated as confidential.
(5) Information supplied pursuant to a request under subsection (1) of this section may take account of any amendment of the personal data concerned made since the receipt of the re-quest by the data controller (being an amendment that would have been made irrespective of the receipt of the request) but not of any other amendment.
(6)(a) A request by an individual under subsection (1) of this section in relation to the
results of an examination at which he was a candidate shall be deemed, for the purposes of
this section, to be made on-
(i) the date of the first publication of the results of the examination, or
(ii) the date of the request, whichever is the later; and paragraph (a) of the said subsection
(1) shall be construed and have effect in relation to such a request as if for "40 days"
there were substituted "60 days".
(b) In this subsection "examination" means any process for determining the knowledge,
intelligence, skill or ability of a person by reference to his performance in any test, work or
other activity.
(7) A notification of a refusal of a request made by an individual under and in compliance with the preceding provisions of this section shall be in writing and shall include a state-ment of the reasons for the refusal and an indication that the individual may complain to the Commissioner about the refusal.
(8)(a) If and whenever the Minister considers it desirable in the interests of data subjects or in
the public interest to do so and by regulations so declares, the application of this section to
personal data-
(i) relating to physical or mental health, or
(ii) kept for, or obtained in the course of, carrying out social work by a Minister of the
Government, a local authority, a health board or a specified voluntary organisation or other
body, may be modified by the regulations in such manner, in such circumstances, subject
to such safeguards and to such extent as may be specified therein.
(b) Regulations under paragraph (a) of this subsection shall be made only after consultation
with the Minister for Health and any other Minister of the Government who, having regard to
his functions, ought, in the opinion of the Minister, to be consulted and may make different
provision in relation to data of different descriptions.
(9) The obligation imposed by subsection (1) (a) (iii) (inserted by the Act of 2003) of this section shall be complied with by supplying the data subject with a copy of the information concerned in permanent form unless -
(a) the supply of such a copy is not possible or would involve disproportionate effort, or
(b) the data subject agrees otherwise.
(10) Where a data controller has previously complied with a request under subsection (1) of this section, the data controller is not obliged to comply with a subsequent identical or similar request under that subsection by the same individual unless, in the opinion of the data con-troller, a reasonable interval has elapsed between compliance with the previous request and the making of the current request.
(11) In determining for the purposes of subsection (10) of this section whether the reasonable interval specified in that subsection has elapsed, regard shall be had to the nature of the data, the purpose for which the data are processed and the frequency with which the data are al-tered.
(12) Subsection (1) (a) (iv) of this section is not to be regarded as requiring the provision of
information as to the logic involved in the taking of a decision if and to the extent only that
such provision would adversely affect trade secrets or intellectual property (in particular any
copyright protecting computer software).
(13) (a) A person shall not, in connection with -
(i) the recruitment of another person as an employee,
(ii) the continued employment of another person, or
(iii) a contract for the provision of services to him or her by another person,
require that other person -
(I) to make a request under subsection (1) of this section, or
(II) to supply him or her with data relating to that other person obtained as a result of such a request.
(b) A person who contravenes paragraph (a) of this subsection shall be guilty of an offence.
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5. Restriction of right of access.
5.-. (1) Section 4 of this Act does not apply to personal data-
(a) kept for the purpose of preventing, detecting or investigating offences, apprehending or prosecuting offenders or assessing or collecting any tax, duty or other moneys owed or pay-able to the State, a local authority or a health board, in any case in which the application of that section to the data would be likely to prejudice any of the matters aforesaid,
(b) to which, by virtue of paragraph (a) of this subsection, the said section 4 does not apply
and which are kept for the purpose of discharging a function conferred by or under any
enactment and consisting of information obtained for such a purpose from a person who had
it in his possession for any of the purposes mentioned in paragraph (a) of this subsection,
(c) in any case in which the application of that section would be likely to prejudice the secu-rity of, or the maintenance of good order and discipline in-
(i) a prison,
(ii) a place of detention provided under section 2 of the Prison Act, 1970,
(iii) a military prison or detention barrack within the meaning of the Defence Act, 1954, or
(iv) Saint Patrick's Institution,
(d) kept for the purpose of performing such functions conferred by or under any enactment as may be specified by regulations made by the Minister, being functions that, in the opinion of the Minister, are designed to protect members of the public against financial loss occasioned by-
(i) dishonesty, incompetence or malpractice on the part of persons concerned in the
provision of banking, insurance, investment or other financial services or in the
management of companies or similar organisations, or
(ii) the conduct of persons who have at any time been adjudicated bankrupt,
in any case in which the application of that section to the data would be likely to
prejudice the proper performance of any of those functions,
(e) in respect of which the application of that section would be contrary to the interests of protecting the international relations of the State,
(f) consisting of an estimate of, or kept for the purpose of estimating, the amount of the
liability of the data controller concerned on foot of a claim for the payment of a sum of
money, whether in respect of damages or compensation, in any case in which the application
of the section would be likely to prejudice the interests of the data controller in relation to the
claim,
(g) in respect of which a claim of privilege could be maintained in proceedings in a court in
relation to communications between a client and his professional legal advisers or between
those advisers,
(gg) kept by the Commissioner or the Information Commissioner for the purposes of his or her functions,
(h) kept only for the purpose of preparing statistics or carrying out research if the data are not
used or disclosed (other than to a person to whom a disclosure of such data may be made in
the circumstances specified in section 8 of this Act) for any other purpose and the resulting
statistics or the results of the research are not made available in a form that identifies any of
the data subjects, or
(i) that are back-up data.
(2) Regulations under subsection (1) (d) and (3) (b) of this section shall be made only after consultation with any other Minister of the Government who, having regard to his functions, ought, in the opinion of the Minister, to be consulted.
(3)(a) Subject to paragraph (b) of this subsection, section 4 of this Act, as modified by any
other provisions thereof, shall apply notwithstanding any provision of or made under any
enactment or rule of law that is in force immediately before the passing of this Act and
prohibits or restricts the disclosure, or authorises the withholding, of information.
(b) If and whenever the Minister is of opinion that a prohibition, restriction or authorisation
referred to in paragraph (a) of this subsection in relation to any information ought to prevail
in the interests of the data subjects concerned or any other individuals and by regulations so
declares, then, while the regulations are in force, the said paragraph (a) shall not apply as
respects the provision or rule of law concerned and accordingly section 4 of this Act, as
modified as aforesaid, shall not apply in relation to that information.
6. Right of rectification or erasure.
6. (1) An individual shall, if he so requests in writing a data controller who keeps personal data relating to him, be entitled to have rectified or, where appropriate, blocked or erased any such data in relation to which there has been a contravention by the data controller of section 2(1) of this Act; and the data controller shall comply with the request as soon as may be and in any event not more than 40 days after it has been given or sent to him:
Provided that the data controller shall, as respects data that are inaccurate or not kept up to date, be deemed-
(a) to have complied with the request if he supplements that data with a statement (to the
terms of which the individual has assented) relating to the matters dealt with by the data, and
(b) if he supplements the data as aforesaid, not to be in contravention of paragraph (b) of the
said section 2(1)
(2) Where a data controller complies, or is deemed to have complied, with the request under subsection (1) of this section, he or she shall, as soon as may be and in any event not more than 40 days after the request has been given or sent to him or her, notify-
(a) the individual making the request, and
(b) if such compliance materially modifies the data concerned, any person to whom the data
were disclosed during the period of 12 months immediately before the giving or sending of
the request unless such notification proves impossible or involves a disproportionate effort,
of the rectification, blocking, erasure or statement concerned.
6A. Right of data subject to object to processing likely to cause damage or distress
6A - (1) Subject to subsection (3) and unless otherwise provided by any enactment, an indi-vidual is entitled at any time, by notice in writing served on a data controller, to request him or her to cease within a reasonable time, or not to begin, processing or processing for a specified purpose or in a manner specified by the individual any personal data in respect of which he or she is the data subject if the processing falls within subsection (2) of this section, on the ground that, for specific reasons-
(a) the processing of those data or their processing for the purpose or in that manner is
causing or likely to cause substantial damage or distress to him or her or to another person,
and
(b) the damage or distress is or would be unwarranted.
(2) This subsection applies to processing that is necessary-
(a) for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the data controller or in a third party to whom the data are or are to be dis-closed, or
(b) for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by the data controller to whom the
data are or are to be disclosed, unless those interests are overridden by the interests of the
data subject in relation to fundamental rights and freedoms and, in particular, his or her
right to privacy with respect to the processing of personal data.
(3) Subsection (1) does not apply-
(a) in a case where the data subject has given his or her explicit consent to the processing,
(b) if the processing is necessary-
(i) for the performance of a contract to which the data subject is a party,
(ii) in order to take steps at the request of the data subject prior to his or her entering into a
contract,
(iii) for compliance with any legal obligation to which the data controller or data subject is subject other than one imposed by contract, or
(iv) to protect the vital interests of the data subject,
(c) to processing carried out by political parties, or candidates for election to, or holders of
elective political office, in the course of electoral activities, or
(d) in such other cases, if any, as may be specified in regulations made by the Minister after
consultation with the Commissioner.
(4) Where a notice under subsection (1) of this section is served on a data controller, he or she shall, as soon as practicable and in any event not later than 20 days after the receipt of the notice, serve a notice on the individual concerned -
(a) stating that he or she has complied or intends to comply with the request concerned, or
(b) stating that he or she is of the opinion that the request is unjustified to any extent and the
reasons for the opinion and the extent (if any) to which he or she has complied or intends to
comply with it.
(5) If the Commissioner is satisfied, on the application to him or her in that behalf of an indi-vidual who has served a notice under subsection (1) of this section that appears to the Com-missioner to be justified, or to be justified to any extent, that the data controller concerned has failed to comply with the notice or to comply with it to that extent and that not less than 40 days have elapsed since the receipt of the notice by him or her, the Commissioner may, by an enforcement notice served on the data controller, order him or her to take such steps for com-plying with the request, or for complying with it to that extent, as the Commissioner thinks fit and specifies in the enforcement notice, and that notice shall specify the reasons for the Commissioner being satisfied as aforesaid.
6B. Rights in relation to automated decision making
6B (1) Subject to subsection (2) of this section, a decision which produces legal effects con-cerning a data subject or otherwise significantly affects a data subject may not be based solely on processing by automatic means of personal data in respect of which he or she is the data subject and which is intended to evaluate certain personal matters relating to him or her such as, for example (but without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing), his or her per-formance at work, creditworthiness, reliability or conduct.
(2) Subsection (1) of this section does not apply -
(a) in a case in which a decision referred to in that subsection -
(i) is made in the course of steps taken -
(I) for the purpose of considering whether to enter into a contract with the data subject,
(II) with a view to entering into such a contract, or
(III) in the course of performing such a contract,
or
(ii) is authorised or required by any enactment and the data subject has been informed of
the proposal to make the decision,
and
(iii) either -
(I) the effect of the decision is to grant a request of the data subject, or
(II) adequate steps have been taken to safeguard the legitimate interests of the data subject
by, for example (but without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing), the making of
arrangements to enable him or her to make representations to the data controller in relation
to the proposal, or
(b) if the data subject consents to the processing referred to in subsection (1).
7. Duty of care owed by data controllers and data processors
7. - For the purposes of the law of torts and to the extent that that law does not so provide, a person, being a data controller or a data processor, shall, so far as regards the collection by him of personal data or information intended for inclusion in such data or his dealing with such data, owe a duty of care to the data subject concerned:
Provided that, for the purposes only of this section, a data controller shall be deemed to have complied with the provisions of section 2(1) (b) of this Act if and so long as the personal data concerned accurately record data or other information received or obtained by him from the data subject or a third party and include (and, if the data are disclosed, the disclosure is ac-companied by)-
(a) an indication that the information constituting the data was received or obtained as
aforesaid,
(b) if appropriate, an indication that the data subject has informed the data controller that he regards the information as inaccurate or not kept up to date, and
(c) any statement with which, pursuant to this Act, the data are supplemented.
8. Processing of personal data in certain cases
8.-Any restrictions in this Act on the processing of personal data do not apply if the process-ing is-
(a) in the opinion of a member of the Garda Síochána not below the rank of chief
superintendent or an officer of the Permanent Defence Force who holds an army rank not
below that of colonel and is designated by the Minister for Defence under this paragraph,
required for the purpose of safeguarding the security of the State,
(b) required for the purpose of preventing, detecting or investigating offences, apprehending
or prosecuting offenders or assessing or collecting any tax, duty or other moneys owed or
payable to the State, a local authority or a health board, in any case in which the application
of those restrictions would be likely to prejudice any of the matters aforesaid,
(c) required in the interests of protecting the international relations of the State,
(d) required urgently to prevent injury or other damage to the health of a person or serious
loss of or damage to property,
(e) required by or under any enactment or by a rule of law or order of a court,
(f) required for the purposes of obtaining legal advice or for the purposes of, or in the course
of, legal proceedings in which the person making the disclosure is a party or a witness,
(g) [deleted 2003 Act]
(h) made at the request or with the consent of the data subject or a person acting on his behalf.
The Data Protection Commissioner
9. The Commissioner
9.(1) For the purposes of this Act, there shall be a person (referred to in this Act as the Commissioner) who shall be known as an Coimisinéir Cosanta Sonraí or, in the English language, the Data Protection Commissioner; the Commissioner shall perform the functions conferred on him by this Act.
(1A) (a) The lawfulness of the processing of personal data (including their transmission to the Central Unit of Eurodac established pursuant to the Council Regulation) in accordance with the Council Regulation shall be monitored by the Commissioner.
(b) in paragraph (a) of this subsection “the Council Regulation” means Council Regulation (EC) No. 2725/2000 of 11 December 2000 concerning the establishment of Eurodac for the comparison of fingerprints for the effective application of the Dublin Convention.
(1B)The Commissioner shall arrange for the dissemination in such form and manner as he or she considers appropriate of -
(a) any Community finding (within the meaning of subsection (2) (b) (inserted by the Act of
2003) of section 11 of this Act),
(b) any decision of the European Commission or the European Council under the procedure
provided for in Article 31(2) of the Directive that is made for the purposes of paragraphs 3
and 4 of Article 26 of the Directive, and
(c) such other information as may appear to him or her to be expedient to give to data control-lers in relation to the production of the rights and freedoms of data subjects in respect of the processing of personal data in countries and territories outside the European Economic Area.
(1C) The Commissioner shall be the supervisory authority in the State for the purposes of the Directive.
(1D) The Commissioner shall also perform any functions in relation to data protection that the Minister may confer on him or her by regulations for the purpose of enabling the Gov-ernment to give effect to any international obligations of the State.
(2) The provisions of the Second Schedule to this Act shall have effect in relation to the Commissioner.
10. Enforcement of data protection
10. (1)(a) The Commissioner may investigate, or cause to be investigated, whether any of the
provisions of this Act have been, are being or are likely to be contravened in relation to an
individual either where the individual complains to him of a contravention of any of those
provisions or he is otherwise of opinion that there may be such a contravention.
(b) Where a complaint is made to the Commissioner under paragraph (a) of this subsection,
the Commissioner shall-
(i) investigate the complaint or cause it to be investigated, unless he is of opinion that it is
frivolous or vexatious, and
(ii) if he or she is unable to arrange, within a reasonable time, for the amicable resolution
by the parties concerned of the matter the subject of the complaint, notify in writing the
individual who made the complaint of his or her decision in relation to it and that the
individual may, if aggrieved by the decision, appeal against it to the Court under section
26 of this Act within 21 days from the receipt by him or her of the notification.
(1A) The Commissioner may carry out or cause to be carried out such investigations as he or she considers appropriate in order to ensure compliance with the provisions of this Act and to identify any contravention thereof.
(2) If the Commissioner is of opinion that a person has contravened or is contravening a
provision of this Act (other than a provision the contravention of which is an offence), the
Commissioner may, by notice in writing (referred to in this Act as an enforcement notice)
served on the person, require him to take such steps as are specified in the notice within such
time as may be so specified to comply with the provision concerned.
(3) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (2) of this section, if the Commissioner
is of opinion that a data controller has contravened section 2(1) of this Act, the relevant
enforcement notice may require him-
(a) to block, rectify, erase or destroy any of the data concerned, or
(b) to supplement the data with such statement relating to the matters dealt with by them as
the Commissioner may approve of; and as respects data that are inaccurate or not kept up to
date, if he supplements them as aforesaid, he shall be deemed not to be in contravention of
paragraph (b) of the said section 2(1).
(4) An enforcement notice shall-
(a) specify any provision of this Act that, in the opinion of the Commissioner, has been or is
being contravened and the reasons for his having formed that opinion, and
(b) subject to subsection (6) of this section, state that the person concerned may appeal to the
Court under section 26 of this Act against the requirement specified in the notice within 21
days from the service of the notice on him.
(5) Subject to subsection (6) of this section, the time specified in an enforcement notice for
compliance with a requirement specified therein shall not be expressed to expire before the
end of the period of 21 days specified in subsection (4) (b) of this section and, if an appeal is
brought against the requirement, the requirement need not be complied with and subsection
(9) of this section shall not apply in relation thereto, pending the determination or withdrawal
of the appeal.
(6)If the Commissioner-
(a) by reason of special circumstances, is of opinion that a requirement specified in an
enforcement notice should be complied with urgently, and
(b) includes a statement to that effect in the notice,
subsections (4) (b) and (5) of this section shall not apply in relation to the notice, but the
notice shall contain a statement of the effect of the provisions of section 26 (other than
subsection (3)) of the Act and shall not require compliance with the requirement before the
end of the period of 7 days beginning on the date on which the notice is served.
(7) On compliance by a data controller with a requirement under subsection (3) of this
section, he shall, as soon as may be and in any event not more than 40 days after such
compliance, notify-
(a) the data subject concerned, and
(b) if such compliance materially modifies the data concerned, any person to whom the data
were disclosed during the period beginning 12 months before the date of service of the
enforcement notice concerned and ending immediately before such compliance unless such
notification proves impossible or involves a disproportionate effort,
of the blocking, rectification, erasure, destruction or statement concerned.
(8) The Commissioner may cancel an enforcement notice and, if he does so, shall notify in writing the person on whom it was served accordingly.
(9) A person who, without reasonable excuse, fails or refuses to comply with a requirement specified in an enforcement notice shall be guilty of an offence.
11. Restriction on transfer of personal data outside State
11(1) The transfer of personal data by a data controller to a country or territory outside the European Economic Area may not take place unless that country or territory ensures an adequate level of protection for the privacy and the fundamental rights and freedoms of data subjects in relation to the processing of personal data having regard to all the circum-stances surrounding the transfer and, in particular but without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, to -
(a) the nature of the data,
(b) the purposes for which and the period during which the data are intended to be
processed,
(c) the country or territory of origin of the information contained in the data,
(d)the country or territory of final destination of that information,
(e) the law in force in the country or territory referred to in paragraph (d),
(f) any relevant codes of conduct or other rules which are enforceable in that country or
territory,
(g) any security measures taken in respect of the data in that country or territory, and
(h) the international obligations of that country or territory.
(2) (a)Where in any proceedings under this Act a question arises-
(i) whether the adequate level of protection specified in subsection (1) of this section is
ensured by a country or territory outside the European Economic Area to which personal
data are to be transferred, and
(ii) a Community finding has been made in relation to transfers of the kind in question,
the question shall be determined in accordance with that finding.
(b)In paragraph (a) of this subsection “Community finding” means a finding of the European
Commission made for the purposes of paragraph (4) or (6) of Article 25 of the Directive
under the procedure provided for in Article 31(2) of the Directive in relation to whether the
adequate level of protection specified in subsection (1) of this section is ensured by a country
or territory outside the European Economic Area.
(3) The Commissioner shall inform the Commission and the supervisory authorities of the other Member States of any case where he or she considers that a country or territory out-side the European Economic Area does not ensure the adequate level of protection referred to in subsection (1) of this section.
(4)(a) This section shall not apply to a transfer of data if -
(i) the transfer of the data or the information constituting the data is required or authorized
by or under
(I) any enactment, or
(II) any convention or other instrument imposing an international obligation on the State,
(ii) the data subject has given his or her consent to the transfer,
(iii) the transfer is necessary -
(I) for the performance of a contract between the data subject and the data controller, or
(II) for the taking of steps at the request of the data subject with a view to his or her
entering into a contract with the data controller,
(iv) the transfer is necessary -
(I) for the conclusion of a contract between the data controller and a person other than the
data subject that -
(A) is entered into at the request of the data subject, and
(B) is in the interests of the data subject, or
(II) for the performance of such a contract,
(v) the transfer is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest
(vi) the transfer is necessary for the purposes of obtaining legal advice or for the purpose of or in connection with legal proceedings or prospective legal proceedings or is otherwise
necessary for the purposes of establishing or defending legal rights,
(vii) the transfer is necessary in order to prevent injury or other damage to the health of the data subject or serious loss or damage to property of the data subject or otherwise to pro-tect his or her vital interests, and informing the data subject of, or seeking his or her con-sent to, the transfer is likely to damage his or her vital interests,
(viii) the transfer is of part only of the personal data on a register established by or under an enactment, being -
(I) a register intended for consultation by the public, or
(II) a register intended for consultation by persons having a legitimate interest in its subject
matter, and, in the case of a register referred to in clause (II) of this subparagraph, the
transfer is made, at the request of, or to, a person referred to in that clause and any
conditions to which such consultation is subject are complied with by any person to whom
the data are or are to be transferred, or
(ix) the transfer has been authorised by the Commissioner where the data controller
adduces adequate safeguards with respect to the privacy and fundamental rights and
freedoms of individuals and for the exercise by individuals of their relevant rights
under this Act or the transfer is made on terms of a kind approved by the Commissioner
as ensuring such safeguards.
(b) The Commissioner shall inform the European Commission and the supervisory
authorities of the other states in the European Economic Area of any authorisation or
approval under paragraph (a) (ix) of this subsection.
(c) The Commissioner shall comply with any decision of the European Commission under the procedure laid down in Article 31.2 of the Directive made for the purposes of para-graph 3 or 4 of Article 26 of the Directive.
(5) The Minister may, after consultation with the Commissioner, by regulations specify -
(a) the circumstances in which a transfer of data is to be taken for the purposes of subsection
(4)(a)(v) of this section to be necessary for reasons of substantial public interest, and
(b) the circumstances in which such a transfer which is not required by or under an enactment is not to be so taken.
(6) Where, in relation to a transfer of data to a country or territory outside the European Eco-nomic Area, a data controller adduces the safeguards for the data subject concerned
referred to in subsection (4) (a) (ix) of this section by means of a contract embodying the
contractual clauses referred to in paragraph 2 or 4 of Article 26 of the Directive, the data subject shall have the same right -
(a) to enforce a clause of the contract conferring rights on him or her relating to such rights, and
(b) to compensation or damages for breach of such a clause,
that he or she would have if he or she were a party to the contract.
(7) The Commissioner may, subject to the provisions of this section, prohibit the transfer of personal data from the State to a place outside the State unless such transfer is required or authorised by or under any enactment or required by any convention or other instrument imposing an international obligation on the State.
(8) In determining whether to prohibit a transfer of personal data under this section, the Commissioner shall also consider whether the transfer would be likely to cause damage or distress to any person and have regard to the desirability of facilitating international trans-fers of data.
(9) A prohibition under subsection (7) of this section shall be effected by the service of a
notice (referred to in this Act as a prohibition notice) on the person proposing to transfer the
data concerned.
(10) A prohibition notice shall-
(a) prohibit the transfer concerned either absolutely or until the person aforesaid has taken such steps as are specified in the notice for protecting the interests of the data subjects
concerned,
(b) specify the time when it is to take effect,
(c) specify the grounds for the prohibition, and
(d) subject to subsection (12) of this section, state that the person concerned may appeal to
the Court under section 26 of this Act against the prohibition specified in the notice within 21
days from the service of the notice on him or her.
(11) Subject to subsection (12) of this section, the time specified in a prohibition notice for compliance with the prohibition specified therein shall not be expressed to expire before the end of the period of 21 days specified in subsection (10) (d) of this section and, if an appeal is brought against the prohibition, the prohibition need not be complied with and subsection (15) of this section shall not apply in relation thereto, pending the determination or with-drawal of the appeal.
(12) If the Commissioner-
(a) by reason of special circumstances, is of opinion that a prohibition specified in a
prohibition notice should be complied with urgently, and
(b) includes a statement to that effect in the notice,
subsections (10) (d) and (11) of this section shall not apply in relation to the notice but the notice shall contain a statement of the effect of the provisions of section 26 (other than sub-section (3)) of this Act and shall not require compliance with the prohibition before the end of the period of 7 days beginning on the date on which the notice is served.
(13) The Commissioner may cancel a prohibition notice and, if he does so, shall notify in writing the person on whom it was served accordingly.
(14) (a) This section applies, with any necessary modifications, to a transfer of information
from the State to a place outside the State for conversion into personal data as it applies to a
transfer of personal data from the State to such a place.
(b) In paragraph (a) of this subsection "information" means information (not being data)
relating to a living individual who can be identified from it.
(15) A person who, without reasonable excuse, fails or refuses to comply with a prohibition specified in a prohibition notice shall be guilty of an offence.
12. Power to require information
12. (1) The Commissioner may, by notice in writing (referred to in this Act as an information notice) served on a person, require the person to furnish to him in writing within such time as may be specified in the notice such information in relation to matters specified in the notice as is necessary or expedient for the performance by the Commissioner of his func-tions.
(2)Subject to subsection (3) of this section-
(a) an information notice shall state that the person concerned may appeal to the Court under section 26 of this Act against the requirement specified in the notice within 21 days from the service of the notice on him, and
(b) the time specified in the notice for compliance with a requirement specified therein shall
not be expressed to expire before the end of the period of 21 days specified in paragraph
(a) of this subsection and, if an appeal is brought against the requirement, the requirement
need not be complied with and subsection (5) of this section shall not apply in relation
thereto, pending the determination or withdrawal of the appeal.
(3) If the Commissioner-
(a) by reason of special circumstances, is of opinion that a requirement specified in an
information notice should be complied with urgently, and
(b) includes a statement to that effect in the notice,
subsection (2) of this section shall not apply in relation to the notice, but the notice shall con-tain a statement of the effect of the provisions of section 26 (other than subsection (3)) of this Act and shall not require compliance with the requirement before the end of the period of 7 days beginning on the date on which the notice is served.
(4) (a) No enactment or rule of law prohibiting or restricting the disclosure of information
shall preclude a person from furnishing to the Commissioner any information that is
necessary or expedient for the performance by the Commissioner of his functions.
(b) Paragraph (a) of this subsection does not apply to information that in the opinion of the
Minister or the Minister for Defence is, or at any time was, kept for the purpose of
safeguarding the security of the State or information that is privileged from disclosure in
proceedings in any court.
(5) A person who, without reasonable excuse, fails or refuses to comply with a requirement specified in an information notice or who in purported compliance with such a requirement furnishes information to the Commissioner that the person knows to be false or misleading in a material respect shall be guilty of an offence.
12A. Prior Checking of Processing by Commissioner
12A (1) This section applies to any processing that is of a prescribed description , being proc-essing that appears to the Commissioner to be particularly likely -
(a) to cause substantial damage or substantial distress to data subjects, or
(b) otherwise significantly to prejudice the rights and freedoms of data subjects.
(2) The Commissioner, on receiving -
(a) an application under section 17 of this Act by a person to whom section 16 of this Act
applies for registration in the register and any prescribed information and any other
information that he or she may require, or
(b) a request from a data controller in that behalf,
shall consider and determine -
(i) whether any of the processing to which the application or request relates is processing
to which this section applies, and
(ii) if it does, whether the processing to which this section applies is likely to comply
with the provisions of this Act.
(3) Subject to subsection (4) of this section, the Commissioner shall, within the period of 90
days from the day on which he or she receives an application or a request referred to in
subsection (2) of this section, serve a notice on the data controller concerned stating the
extent to which, in the opinion of the Commissioner, the proposed processing is likely or
unlikely to comply with the provisions of this Act.
(4) Before the end of the period referred to in subsection (3), the Commissioner may, by rea-son of special circumstances, extend that period once only, by notice in writing served on the data controller concerned, by such further period not exceeding 90 days as the Com-missioner may specify in the notice.
(5) If, for the purposes of his or her functions under this section, the Commissioner serves an information notice on the data controller concerned before the end of the period referred to in subsection (3) of this section or that period as extended under subsection (4) of this sec-tion-
(a) the period from the date of service of the notice to the date of compliance with the
requirement in the notice, or
(b) if the requirement is set aside under section 26 of this Act, the period from the date of such service to the date of such setting aside,
shall be added to the period referred to in the said subsection (3) or that period as so extended as aforesaid.
(6) Processing to which this section applies shall not be carried on unless -
(a) the data controller has -
(i) previously made an application under section 17 of this Act and furnished the
information specified in that section to the Commissioner, or
(ii) made a request under subsection (2) of this section, and
(b) the data controller has complied with any information notice served on him or her in rela-tion to the matter, and
(c) (i) the period of 90 days from the date of the receipt of the application or request referred
to in subsection (3) of this section (or that period as extended under subsections (4) and (5) of
this section or either of them) has elapsed without the receipt by the data controller of a
notice under the said subsection (3), or
(ii) the data controller has received a notice under the said subsection (3) stating that the
particular processing proposed to be carried on is likely to comply with the provisions of this
Act, or
(iii) the data controller -
(I) has received a notice under the said subsection (3) stating that, if the requirements speci-fied by the Commissioner (which he or she is hereby authorised to specify) and appended to the notice are complied with by the data controller, the processing proposed to be carried on is likely to comply with the provisions of this Act, and
(II) has complied with those requirements.
(7) A person who contravenes subsection (6) of this section shall be guilty of an offence.
(8) An appeal against a notice under subsection (3) of this section or a requirement appended to the notice may be made to and heard and determined by the Court under section 26 of this Act and that section shall apply as if such a notice and such a requirement were speci-fied in subsection (1) of the said section 26.
(9) The Minister, after consultation with the Commissioner, may by regulations amend sub-sections (3), (4) and (6) of this section by substituting for the number of days for the time being specified therein a different number specified in the regulations.
(10) A data controller shall pay to the Commissioner such fee (if any) as may be prescribed in respect of the consideration by the Commissioner, in relation to proposed processing by the data controller, of the matters refereed to in paragraphs (i) and (ii) of subsection (2) of this section and different fees may be prescribed in relation to different categories of proc-essing.
(11) In this section a reference to a data controller includes a reference to a data processor.
13. (1)The Commissioner shall encourage trade associations and other bodies representing categories of data controllers to prepare codes of practice to be complied with by those categories in dealing with personal data.
(2) The Commissioner shall -
(a) where a code of practice (referred to subsequently in this section as a code) so prepared
is submitted to him or her for consideration, consider the code and, after such consultation
with such data subjects or persons representing data subjects and with the relevant trade
associations or other bodies aforesaid as appears to him or her to be appropriate-
(i) if he or she is of opinion that the code provides for the data subjects concerned a
measure of protection with regard to personal data relating to them that conforms with
that provided for by sections 2, 2A to 2D (inserted by the Act of 2003) and sections 3
and 4 (other than subsection (8)) and 6 of this Act, approve of the code and encourage its
dissemination to the data controllers concerned, and
(ii) in any event notify the association or body concerned of his or her decision to approve
or not to approve the code,
(b) where he or she considers it necessary or desirable to do so and after such consultation with any trade associations or other bodies referred to in subsection (1) of this section having an interest in the matter and data subjects or persons representing data subjects as he or she considers appropriate, prepare and arrange for the dissemination to such persons as he or she considers appropriate of, codes of practice for guidance as to good practice in dealing with personal data, and subsection (3) of this section shall apply to a code of practice prepared un-der this subsection as it applies to a code,
(c) in such manner and by such means as he or she considers most effective for the purposes of this paragraph, promote the following of good practice by data controllers and, in particu-lar, so perform his or her functions under this Act as to promote compliance with this Act by data controllers,
(d) arrange for the dissemination in such form and manner as he or she considers
appropriate of such information as appears to him or her to be expedient to give to the public
about the operation of this Act, about the practices in processing of personal data (including
compliance with the requirements of this Act) that appear to the Commissioner to be
desirable having regard to the interests of data subjects and other persons likely to be
affected by such processing and about other matters within the scope of his or her functions
under this Act, and may give advice to any person in relation to any of those matters,
(3) Any such code that is so approved of may be laid by the Minister before each House of the Oireachtas and, if each such House passes a resolution approving of it, then-
(a) in so far as it relates to dealing with personal data by the categories of data controllers concerned-
(i) it shall have the force of law in accordance with its terms, and
(ii) upon its commencement, references (whether specific or general) in this Act to any
of the provisions of the said sections shall be construed (or, if the code is in substitution
for a code having the force of law by virtue of this subsection, continued to be construed)
as if they were also references to the relevant provisions of the code for the time being
having the force of law, and
(b) it shall be deemed to be a statutory instrument to which the Statutory Instruments Act, 1947, primarily applies.
(4) This section shall apply in relation to data processors as it applies in relation to categories of data controllers with the modification that the references in this section to the said sections shall be construed as references to section 2(1) (d) of this Act and with any other necessary modifications.
(5) The Commissioner shall be paid by a person in relation to whom a service is provided un-der this section such fee (if any) as may be prescribed and different fees may be prescribed in relation to different such services and different classes of persons.
(6) In proceedings in any court or other tribunal, any provision of a code, or a code of prac-tice, approved under subsection (3) of this section that appears to the court or other tribunal concerned to be relevant to the proceedings may be taken into account in determining the question concerned.
(7)A code of practice approved under subsection (2) of the said section 13 and in force
immediately before the commencement of this section shall continue in force after such
commencement as if approved under subsection (2) (inserted by this section) of section 13
of the Principal Act.
14. (1) The Commissioner shall in each year after the year in which the first Commissioner is appointed prepare a report in relation to his activities under the European Communities (Electronic Communications Networks and Services) (Data Protection and Privacy) Regu-lations 2003 and this Act in the preceding year and cause copies of the report to be laid be-fore each House of the Oireachtas.
(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1) of this section, if, but for this subsection, the first report under that subsection would relate to a period of less than 6 months, the report shall relate to that period and to the year immediately following that period and shall be prepared as soon as may be after the end of that year.
(3) For the purposes of the law of defamation a report under subsection (1) shall be absolutely privileged.
15. Mutual assistance between parties to Convention
15. (1) The Commissioner is hereby designated for the purposes of Chapter IV (which relates to mutual assistance) of the Convention.
(2)The Minister may make any regulations that he considers necessary or expedient for the purpose of enabling the said Chapter IV to have full effect.
16 -(1) In this section ‘person to whom this section applies’ means a data controller and a data processor (other than such (if any) categories of data controller and data processor as may be specified in regulations made by the Minister after consultation with the Commis-sioner) except in so far as -
(a) they carry out -
(i) processing whole sole purpose is the keeping in accordance with law of a register that is intended to provide information to the public and is open to consultation either by the public in general or by any person demonstrating a legitimate interest,
(ii) processing of manual data (other than such categories, if any, of such data as may be
prescribed), or
(iii) any combination of the foregoing categories of processing,
Or
(b) the data controller is a body that is not established or conducted for profit and is carrying
out processing for the purposes of establishing or maintaining membership of or support for
the body or providing or administering activities for individuals who are either members of
the body or have regular contact with it.
(2) The Commissioner shall establish and maintain a register (referred to in this Act as the register) of persons to whom this section applies and shall make, as appropriate, an entry or entries in the register in respect of each person whose application for registration therein is accepted by the Commissioner.
(3)(a) Members of the public may inspect the register free of charge at all reasonable times
and may take copies of, or of extracts from, entries in the register.
(b) A member of the public may, on payment to the Commissioner of such fee (if any) as
may be prescribed , obtain from the Commissioner a copy (certified by him or by a member of
his staff to be a true copy) of, or of an extract from, any entry in the register.
(c) In any proceedings-
(i) a copy of, or of an extract from, an entry in the register certified by the Commissioner
or by a member of his staff to be a true copy shall be evidence of the entry or extract, and
(ii) a document purporting to be such a copy, and to be certified, as aforesaid shall be
deemed to be such a copy and to be so certified unless the contrary is proved.
(d) In any proceedings-
(i) a certificate signed by the Commissioner or by a member of his staff and stating that
there is not an entry in the register in respect of a specified person as a data controller or
as a data processor shall be evidence of that fact, and
(ii) a document purporting to be such a certificate, and to be signed, as aforesaid shall be deemed to be such a certificate and to be so signed unless the contrary is proved.
17. Applications for registration
17. (1) (a) A person wishing to be registered in the register or to have a registration
continued under section 18 of this Act or to have the particulars in an entry in the register
altered shall make an application in writing in that behalf to the Commissioner and shall
furnish to him such information as may be prescribed and any other information that he
may require.
(b) Where a data controller intends to keep personal data for two or more related purposes, he
or she shall make an application for registration in respect of those purposes and, subject to
the provisions of this Act, entries shall be made in the register in accordance with any such
applications.
(c) where a data controller intends to keep personal data for two or more unrelated
purposes, he shall make an application for separate registration in respect of each of those
purposes and, subject to the provisions of this Act, entries shall be made in the register in
accordance with each such application.
(2)Subject to subsection (3) of this section, the Commissioner shall accept an application for registration, made in the prescribed manner and in respect of which such fee as may be prescribed has been paid, from a person to whom section 16 of this Act applies unless he is of opinion that-
(a) the particulars proposed for inclusion in an entry in the register are insufficient or any other information required by the Commissioner either has not been furnished or is insuffi-cient, or
(b) the person applying for registration is likely to contravene any of the provisions of this
Act.
(3) The Commissioner shall not accept such an application for registration as aforesaid from a data controller who keeps sensitive data unless he or she is of opinion that appropriate safeguards for the protection of the privacy of the data subjects are being, and will con-tinue to be, provided by him or her.
(4) Where the Commissioner refuses an application for registration, he shall, as soon as may be, notify in writing the person applying for registration of the refusal and the notification shall-
(a) specify the reasons for the refusal, and
(b) state that the person may appeal to the Court under section 26 of this Act against the
refusal within 21 days from the receipt by him of the notification.
(5) If-
(a) the Commissioner, by reason of special circumstances, is of opinion that a refusal of an application for registration should take effect urgently, and
(b) the notification of the refusal includes a statement to that effect and a statement of the
effect of the provisions of section 26 (other than subsection (3)) of this Act, paragraph (b) of
subsection (4) of this section shall not apply in relation to the notification and paragraph (b)
of subsection (6) of this section shall be construed and have effect as if for the words from
and including "21 days" to the end of the paragraph there were substituted "7 days beginning
on the date on which the notification was received,".
(6) Subject to subsection (5) of this section, a person who has made an application for
registration shall-
(a) until he is notified that it has been accepted or it is withdrawn, or
(b) if he is notified that the application has been refused, until the end of the period of 21 days
within which an appeal may be brought under section 26 of this Act against the refusal and, if
such an appeal is brought, until the determination or withdrawal of the appeal,
be treated for the purposes of section 19 of this Act as if the application had been accepted
and the particulars contained in it had been included in an entry in the register on the date on
which the application was made.
(7) Subsection (2) to (6) of this section apply, with any necessary modifications, to an appli-cation for continuance of registration and an application for alteration of the particulars in an entry in the register as they apply to an application for registration.
18. Duration and continuance of registration
18. (1) A registration (whether it is the first registration or a registration continued under this section) shall be for the prescribed period and on the expiry thereof the relevant entry shall be removed from the register unless the registration is continued as aforesaid.
(2) The prescribed period (which shall not be less than one year) shall be calculated-
(a) in the case of a first registration, from the date on which the relevant entry was made in
the register, and
(b) in the case of a registration which has been continued under this section, from the day
following the expiration of the latest prescribed period.
(3) The Commissioner shall, subject to the provisions of this Act, continue a registration, whether it has previously been continued under this section or not.
(4) Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section, the Commissioner may at any time, at the request of the person to whom an entry relates, remove it from the register.
19. (1) A data controller to whom section 16 of this Act applies shall not keep personal data unless there is for the time being an entry in the register in respect of him.
(2) A data controller in respect of whom there is an entry in the register shall not-
(a) keep personal data of any description other than that specified in the entry,
(b) keep or use personal data for a purpose other than the purpose or purposes described in
the entry,
(c) if the source from which such data, and any information intended for inclusion in such
data, are obtained is required to be described in the entry, obtain such data or information
from a source that is not so described.
(d) disclose such data to a person who is not described in the entry (other than a person to whom a disclosure of such data may be made in the circumstances specified in section 8 of this Act),
(e) directly or indirectly transfer such data to a place outside the State other than one named
or described in the entry.
(3) An employee or agent (not being a data processor) of a data controller mentioned in sub-section (2) of this section shall, as respects personal data kept or, as the case may be, to be kept by the data controller, be subject to the same restrictions in relation to the use, source, disclosure or transfer of the data as those to which the data controller is subject under that subsection.
(4) A data processor to whom section 16 applies shall not process personal data unless there is for the time being an entry in the register in respect of him.
(5) If and whenever a person in respect of whom there is an entry in the register changes his address, he shall thereupon notify the Commissioner of the change.
(6) A person who contravenes subsection (1), (4) and (5), or knowingly contravenes any other provision, of this section shall be guilty of an offence.
20. Regulations for registration
20. (1) The following matters, and such other matters (if any) as may be necessary or expedient for the purpose of enabling sections 16 to 19 of this Act to have full effect, may be
prescribed:
(a) the procedure to be followed in relation to applications by persons for registration,
continuance of registration or alteration of the particulars in an entry in the register or for
withdrawal of such applications,
(b) the information required to be furnished to the Commissioner by such persons, and
(c) the particulars to be included in entries in the register,
and different provision may be made in relation to the matters aforesaid as respects different
categories of persons.
(2) A person who in purported compliance with a requirement prescribed under this section furnishes information to the Commissioner that the person knows to be false or misleading in a material respect shall be guilty of an offence.
Miscellaneous
21. Unauthorised disclosure by data processor
21.(1) Personal data processed by a data processor shall not be disclosed by him, or by an employee or agent of his, without the prior authority of the data controller on behalf of whom the data are processed.
(2) A person who knowingly contravenes subsection (1) of this section shall be guilty of an offence.
22. Disclosure of personal data obtained without authority
22. (1) A person who-
(a) obtains access to personal data, or obtains any information constituting such data, without
the prior authority of the data controller or data processor by whom the data are kept, and
(b) discloses the data or information to another person,
shall be guilty of an offence.
(2) Subsection (1) of this section does not apply to a person who is an employee or agent of the data controller or data processor concerned.
22A. Journalism, literature and Art
22A. (1) Personal data that are processed only for journalistic, artistic or literary purposes shall be exempt from compliance with any provision of this Act specified in subsection (2) of the section if -
(a) the processing is undertaken solely with a view to the publication of any journalistic, liter-ary or artistic material,
(b) the data controller reasonably believes that, having regard in particular to the special
importance of the public interest in freedom of expression, such publication would be in the
public interest, and
(c) the data controller reasonably believes that, in all the circumstances, compliance with that
provision would be incompatible with journalistic, artistic or literary purposes.
(2) The provisions referred to in subsection (1) of this section are
(a) section 2 (as amended by the Act of 2003), other than subsection (1) (d),
(b) sections 2A, 2B and 2D (which sections were inserted by the Act of 2003),
(c) section 3,
(d) sections 4 and 6 (which sections were amended by the Act of 2003), and
(e) sections 6A and 6B (which sections were inserted by the Act of 2003).
(3) In considering for the purposes of subsection (1)(b) of this section whether publication of the material concerned would be in the public interest, regard may be had to any code of practice approved under subsections (1) or (2) of section 13 (as amended by the Act of 2003) of this Act.
(4) In this section ‘publication’, in relation to journalistic, artistic or literary material, means the act of making the material available to the public or any section of the public in any form or by any means.
24. Powers of authorised officers
24.(1) In this section "authorised officer" means a person authorised in writing by the Commissioner to exercise, for the purposes of this Act, the powers conferred by this section.
(2) An authorised officer may, for the purpose of obtaining any information that is necessary or expedient for the performance by the Commissioner of his functions, on production of the officer's authorisation, if so required-
(a) at all reasonable times enter premises that he reasonably believes to be occupied by a data controller or a data processor, inspect the premises and any data therein (other than data con-sisting of information specified in section 12 (4)(b) of this Act) and inspect, examine, operate and test any data equipment therein,
(b) require any person on the premises, being a data controller, a data processor or an
employee or either of them, to disclose to the officer any such data and produce to him any
data material (other than data material consisting of information so specified) that is in that
person's power or control and to give to him such information as he may reasonably require
in regard to such data and material,
(c) either on the premises or elsewhere, inspect and copy or extract information from such data, or inspect and copy or take extracts from such material, and
(d) require any person mentioned in paragraph (b) of this subsection to give to the officer
such information as he may reasonably require in regard to the procedures employed for
complying with the provisions of this Act, the sources from which such data are obtained,
the purposes for which they are kept, the persons to whom they are disclosed and the data
equipment in the premises.
[Sub-sections 3 to 5 deleted by 2003 Act]
(6) A person who obstructs or impedes an authorised office in the exercise of a power, or, without reasonable excuse, does not comply with a requirement, under this section or who in purported compliance with such a requirement gives information to an authorised officer that he knows to be false or misleading in a material respect shall be guilty of an offence.
25. - Any notice authorised by this Act to be served on a person by the Commissioner may be served-
(a) if the person is an individual-
(i) by delivering it to him, or
(ii) by sending it to him by post addressed to him at his usual or last-known place of
residence or business, or
(iii) by leaving it for him at that place,
(b) if the person is a body corporate or an unincorporated body of persons, by sending it to
the body by post to, or addressing it to and leaving it at, in the case of a company, its
registered office (within the meaning of the Companies Act, 1963) and, in any other case, its
principal place of business.
26. (1) An appeal may be made to and heard and determined by the Court against-
(a) a requirement specified in an enforcement notice or an information notice,
(b) a prohibition specified in a prohibition notice,
(c) a refusal by the Commissioner under section 17 of this Act, notified by him under that
section, and
(d) a decision of the Commissioner in relation to a complaint under section 10(1) (a) of this
Act,
and such an appeal shall be brought within 21 days from the service on the person
concerned of the relevant notice or, as the case may be, the receipt by such person of the
notification of the relevant refusal or decision.
(2) The jurisdiction conferred on the Court by this Act shall be exercised by the judge for the time being assigned to the circuit where the appellant ordinarily resides or carries on any profession, business or occupation or, at the option of the appellant, by a judge of the Court for the time being assigned to the Dublin circuit.
(3)(a) Subject to paragraph (b) of this subsection, a decision of the Court under this section
shall be final.
(b) An appeal may be brought to the High Court on a point of law against such a decision;
and references in this Act to the determination of an appeal shall be construed as including
references to the determination of any such appeal to the High Court and of any appeal from
the decision of that Court.
(4) Where-
(a) a person appeals to the Court pursuant to paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of subsection (1) of this section,
(b) the appeal is brought within the period specified in the notice or notification mentioned in
paragraph (c) of this subsection, and
(c) the Commissioner has included a statement in the relevant notice or notification to the
effect that by reason of special circumstances he is of opinion that the requirement or
prohibition specified in the notice should be complied with, or the refusal specified in the
notification should take effect, urgently, then, notwithstanding any provision of this Act, if
the Court, on application to it in that behalf, so determines, non-compliance by the person
with a requirement or prohibition specified in the notice, or, as the case may be, a
contravention by him of section 19 of this Act, during the period ending with the
determination or withdrawal of the appeal or during such other period as may be determined
as aforesaid shall not constitute an offence.
27. (1) In any proceedings-
(a) a certificate signed by the Minister or the Minister for Defence and stating that in his
opinion personal data are, or at any time were, kept for the purpose of safeguarding the
security of the State shall be evidence of that opinion,
(b) a certificate-
(i) signed by a member of the Garda Síochána not below the rank of chief superintendent or an officer of the Permanent Defence Force who holds an army rank not below that of colonel and is designated by the Minister for Defence under section 8 (a) of this Act, and
(ii) stating that in the opinion of the member or, as the case may be, the officer a disclosure
of personal data is required for the purpose aforesaid,
shall be evidence of that opinion, and
(c) a document purporting to be a certificate under paragraph (a) or (b) of this subsection and
to be signed by a person specified in the said paragraph (a) or (b), as appropriate, shall be
deemed to be such a certificate and to be so signed unless the contrary is proved.
(2) Information supplied by a person in compliance with a request under section 3 or 4 (1) of this Act, a requirement under this Act or a direction of a court in proceedings under this Act shall not be admissible in evidence against him or his spouse in proceedings for an
offence under this Act.
28. The whole or any part of any proceedings under this Act may, at the discretion of the court, be heard otherwise than in public.
29. Offences by directors, etc., of bodies corporate
29.(1)Where an offence under this Act has been committed by a body corporate and is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of or to be attributable to any ne-glect on the part of a person, being a director, manager, secretary or other officer of that body corporate, or a person who was purporting to act in any such capacity, that person, as well as the body corporate, shall be guilty of that offence and be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
(2)Where the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members, subsection (1) of this section shall apply in relation to the acts and defaults of a member in connection with his functions of management as if he was a director or manager of the body corporate.
30. Prosecution of summary offences by Commissioner
30. (1) Summary proceedings for an offence under this Act may be brought and prosecuted by the Commissioner.
(2) Notwithstanding section 10 (4) of the Petty Sessions (Ireland) Act, 1851, summary pro-ceedings for an offence under this Act may be instituted within one year from the date of the offence.
31. (1) A person guilty of an offence under this Act shall be liable-
(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding €3,000, or
(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding €100,000.
(2) Where a person is convicted of an offence under this Act, the court may order any data material which appears to the court to be connected with the commission of the offence to be forfeited or destroyed and any relevant data to be erased.
(3) The court shall not make an order under subsection (2) of this section in relation to data material or data where it considers that some person other than the person convicted of the offence concerned may be the owner of, or otherwise interested in, the data unless such steps as are reasonably practicable have been taken for notifying that person and giving him an opportunity to show cause why the order should not be made.
(4) Section 13 of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1967, shall apply in relation to an offence un-der this Act that is not being prosecuted summarily as if, in lieu of the penalties provided for in subsection (3) (a) of that section, there were specified therein the fine provided for in subsection (1) (a) of this section and the reference in subsection (2) (a) of the said section 13 to the penalties provided for by subsection (3) shall be construed and have effect ac-cordingly.
32. Laying of regulations before Houses of Oireachtas
32. Every regulation made under this Act (other than section 2) shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the regulation is passed by either such House within the next 21 days on which that House has sat after the regulation is laid before it, the regulation shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.
33. (1) Fees under this Act shall be paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer in accordance with the directions of the Minister for Finance.
(2) The Public Offices Fees Act, 1879, shall not apply in respect of any fees under this Act.
34. The expenses incurred by the Minister in the administration of this Act shall, to such ex-tent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.
35. Short title and commencement .
35. (1) This Act may be cited as the Data Protection Act, 1988.
(2) This Act shall come into operation on such day or days as, by order or orders made by the Minister under this section, may be fixed therefore either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision and difference days may be so fixed for different pur-poses and different provisions.
36. Data Protection Amendments Act 2003
36. (1) This Act may be cited as the Data Protection (Amendment) Act, 2003.
(2) This Act and the Principal Act may be cited together as the Data Protection Acts, 1988 and 2003, and shall be construed together as one.
(3) Subject to the subsequent provisions of this section, this Act shall come into operation on such day or days as, by order or orders made by the Minister under this section, may be fixed thereof either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision and different days may be so fixed for different purposes and different provisions includ-ing the application of section 22(1) to different provisions specified therein.
(4) This Act, in so far as it -
(a) amends section 2 of the Principal Act and applies it to manual data, and
(b) inserts sections 2A and 2B into that Act,
comes into operation on 24 October 2007 in respect of manual data held in relevant filing
systems on the passing of this Act.
(5) Notwithstanding subsection (4), a data controller shall, if so requested in writing by a data subject when making a request under section 4 of the Principal Act –
(a) rectify, erase, block or destroy any data relating to him or her which are incomplete or in-accurate, or
(b) cease holding manual data relating to him or her in a way incompatible with the legitimate purposes pursued by the data controller.
First Schedule: Council of Europe Convention on Data Protection
Section 1(1).FIRST SCHEDULE
CONVENTION FOR THE PROTECTION OF INDIVIDUALS WITH REGARD TO
AUTOMATIC PROCESSING OF PERSONAL DATA DONE AT STRASBOURG ON
THE 28TH DAY OF JANUARY, 1981
PREAMBLE
The member States of the Council of Europe, signatory hereto,
Considering that the aim of the Council of Europe is to achieve greater unity between its members, based in particular on respect for the rule of law, as well as human rights and
fundamental freedoms;
Considering that it is desirable to extend the safeguards for everyone's rights and fundamental freedoms, and in particular the right to the respect for privacy, taking account of the
increasing flow across frontiers of personal data undergoing automatic processing;
Reaffirming at the same time their commitment to freedom of information regardless of
frontiers;
Recognising that it is necessary to reconcile the fundamental values of the respect for privacy and the free flow of information between peoples,
Have agreed as follows:
CHAPTER I - GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1
Object and Purpose
The purpose of this convention is to secure in the territory of each Party for every individual, whatever his nationality or residence, respect for his rights and fundamental freedoms, and in particular his right to privacy, with regard to automatic processing of personal data relating to him ("data protection").
Article 2
Definitions
For the purposes of this convention:
a. "personal data" means any information relating to an identified or identifiable individual
("data subject");
b. "automated data file" means any set of data undergoing automatic processing;
c. "automatic processing" includes the following operations if carried out in whole or in part
by automated means: storage of data, carrying out of logical and/or arithmetical operations
on those data, their alteration, erasure, retrieval or dissemination;
d. "controller of the file" means the natural or legal person, public authority, agency or any other body who is competent according to the national law to decide what should be the
purpose of the automated data file, which categories of personal data should be stored and which operations should be applied to them.
Article 3
Scope
1. The Parties undertake to apply this convention to automated personal data files and
automatic processing of personal data in the public and private sectors.
2. Any State may, at the time of signature or when depositing its instrument of ratification,
acceptance, approval or accession, or at any later time, give notice by a declaration addressed
to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe:
(a) that it will not apply this convention to certain categories of automated personal data files,
a list of which will be deposited. In this list it shall not include, however, categories of
automated data files subject under its domestic law to data protection provisions.
Consequently, it shall amend this list by a new declaration whenever additional categories of
automated personal data files are subjected to data protection provisions under its domestic
law;
(b) that it will also apply this convention to information relating to groups of persons,
association, foundations, companies, corporations and any other bodies consisting directly or
indirectly of individuals, whether or not such bodies possess legal personality;
(c) that it will also apply this convention to personal data files which are not processed
automatically.
3. Any State which has extended the scope of this convention by any of the declarations
provided for in sub-paragraph 2.b or c above may give notice in the said declaration that such
extensions shall apply only to certain categories of personal data files, a list of which will be
deposited.
4. Any Party which has excluded certain categories of automated personal data files by a
declaration provided for in sub-paragraph 2.a above may not claim the application of this
convention to such categories by a Party which has not excluded them.
5. Likewise, a Party which has not made one or other of the extensions provided for in
sub-paragraph 2.b or c above may not claim the application of this convention on these points
with respect to a Party which has made such extensions.
6. The declarations provided for in paragraph 2 above shall take effect from the moment of
the entry into force of the convention with regard to the State which has made them if they
have been made at the time of signature or deposit of its instrument of ratification,
acceptance, approval or accession, or three months after their receipt by the Secretary
General of the Council of Europe if they have been made at any later time. These
declarations may be withdrawn, in whole or in part, by a notification addressed to the
Secretary General of the Council of Europe. Such withdrawals shall take effect three months
after the data of receipt of such notification.
CHAPTER II-BASIC PRINCIPLES FOR DATA
PROTECTION
Article 4
Duties of the Parties
1. Each Party shall take the necessary measures in its domestic law to give effect to the basic
principles for data protection set out in this chapter.
2. These measures shall be taken at the latest at the time of entry into force of this convention
in respect of that Party.
Article 5
Quality of data
Personal data undergoing automatic processing shall be:
a. obtained and processed fairly and lawfully;
b. stored for specified and legitimate purposes and not used in a way incompatible with those
purpose;
c. adequate, relevant and not excessive in relation to the purposes for which they are stored;
d. accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date;
e. preserved in a form which permits identification of the data subjects for no longer than is
required for the purpose for which those data are stored.
Article 6
Special categories of data
Personal data revealing racial origin, political opinions or religious or other beliefs, as well as personal data concerning health or sexual life, may not be processed automatically unless domestic law provides appropriate safeguards. The same shall apply to personal data relating to criminal convictions.
Article 7
Data security
Appropriate security measures shall be taken for the protection of personal data stored in automated data files against accidental or unauthorised destruction or accidental loss as well as against unauthorised access, alteration or dissemination.
Article 8
Additional safeguards for the data subject
Any person shall be enabled:
a. to establish the existence of an automated personal data file, its main purposes, as well as
the identity and habitual residence or principal place of business of the controller of the file;
b. to obtain at reasonable intervals and without excessive delay or expense confirmation of
whether personal data relating to him are stored in the automated data file as well as
communication to him of such data in an intelligible form;
c. to obtain, as the case may be, rectification or erasure of such data if these have been
processed contrary to the provisions of domestic law giving effect to the basic principles set
out in Articles 5 and 6 of this convention;
d. to have a remedy if a request of confirmation or, as the case may be, communication,
rectification or erasure as referred to in paragraphs b and c of this article is not complies with.
Article 9
Exceptions and restrictions
1. No exception to the provisions of Articles 5, 6 and 8 of this convention shall be allowed
except within the limits defined in this article.
2. Derogation from the provisions of Articles 5, 6 and 8 of this convention shall be allowed
when such derogation is provided for by the law of the Party and constitutes a necessary
measure in a democratic society in the interests of:
a. protecting State security, public safety, the monetary interests of the State or the
suppression of criminal offences;
b. protecting the data subject or the rights and freedoms of others.
3. Restrictions on the exercise of the rights specified in Article 8, paragraphs b, c and d, may
be provided by law with respect to automated personal data files used for statistics or for
scientific research purposes when there is obviously no risk of an infringement of the privacy
of the data subjects.
Article 10
Sanctions and remedies
Each Party undertakes to establish appropriate sanctions and remedies for violations of provi-sions of domestic law giving effect to the basic principles for data protection set out in this chapter.
Article 11
Extended protection
None of the provisions of this chapter shall be interpreted as limiting or otherwise affecting the possibility for a Party to grant data subjects a wider measure of protection than that stipu-lated in this convention.
CHAPTER III - TRANSBORDER DATA FLOWS
Article 12
Transborder flows of personal data and domestic law
1. The following provisions shall apply to the transfer across national borders, by whatever
medium, of personal data undergoing automated processing or collected with a view to their
being automatically processed.
2. A Party shall not, for the sole purpose of the protection of privacy, prohibit or subject to
special authorisation transborder flows of personal data going to the territory of another
Party.
3. Nevertheless, each Party shall be entitled to derogate from the provisions of paragraph 2:
4. a. insofar as its legislation includes specific regulations for certain categories of personal
data or of automated personal data files, because of the nature of those data or those files,
except where the regulations of the other Party provide an equivalent protection;
b. when the transfer is made from its territory to the territory of a non-Contracting State
through the intermediary of the territory of another Party, in order to avoid such transfers
resulting in circumvention of the legislation of the Party referred to at the beginning of this
paragraph.
CHAPTER IV - MUTUAL ASSISTANCE
Article 13
Co-operation between Parties
1. The Parties agree to render each other mutual assistance in order to implement this
convention.
2. For that purpose:
a. each Party shall designate one or more authorities, the name and address of each of which
it shall communicate to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe;
b. each Party which has designated more than one authority shall specify in its
communication referred to in the previous sub-paragraph the competence of each authority:
3. An authority designated by a Party shall at the request of an authority designated by
another Party:
a. furnish information on its law and administrative practice in the field of data protection;
b. take, in conformity with its domestic law and for the sole purpose of protection of privacy,
all appropriate measures for furnishing factual information relation to specific automatic
processing carried out on its territory, with the exception however of the personal data being
processed.
Article 14
Assistance to data subjects resident abroad
1. Each Party shall assist any person resident abroad to exercise the rights conferred by its
domestic law giving effect to the principles set out in Article 8 of this convention.
2. When such a person resides in the territory of another Party he shall be given the option of
submitting his request through the intermediary of the authority designated by that Party.
3. The request for assistance shall contain all the necessary particulars, relating inter alia to:
a. the name, address and any other relevant particulars identifying the person making the
request;
b. the automated personal data file to which the request pertains, or its controller;c. the pur-pose of the request.
Article 15
Safeguards concerning assistance rendered by designated
authorities
1. An authority designated by a Party which has received information from an authority
designated by another Party either accompanying a request for assistance or in reply to its
own request for assistance shall not use that information for purposes other than those
specified in the request for assistance.
2. Each Party shall see to it that the persons belonging to or acting on behalf of the designated
authority shall be bound by appropriate obligation of secrecy or confidentiality with regard to
that information.
3. In no case may a designated authority be allowed to make under Article 14, paragraph 2, a
request for assistance on behalf of a data subject resident abroad, of its own accord and
without the express consent of the person concerned.
Article 16
Refusal of requests for assistance
A designated authority to which a request for assistance is addressed under Articles 13 or 14 of this convention may not refuse to comply with it unless:
a. the request is not compatible with the powers in the field of data protection of the
authorities responsible for replying;
b. the request does not comply with the provisions of this convention;
c. compliance with the request would be incompatible with the sovereignty, security or public
policy (ordre public) of the Party by which it was designated, or with the rights and
fundamental freedoms of persons under the jurisdiction of that Party.
Article 17
Costs and procedures of assistance
1. Mutual assistance which the Parties render each other under Article 13 and assistance they
render to data subjects abroad under Article 14 shall not give rise to the payment of any costs
of fees other than those incurred for experts and interpreters. The latter costs or fees shall be
borne by the Party which has designated the authority making the request for assistance.
2. The data subject may not be charged costs or fees in connection with the steps taken on his
behalf in the territory of another Party other than those lawfully payable by residents of that
Party.
3. Other details concerning the assistance relating in particular to the forms and procedures
and the languages to be used, shall be established directly between the Parties concerned.
CHAPTER V - CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE
Article 18
Composition of the committee
1. A Consultative Committee shall be set up after the entry into force of this convention.
2. Each Party shall appoint a representative to the committee and a deputy representative.
Any member State of the Council of Europe which is not a Party to the convention shall have the right to be represented on the committee by an observer.
3. The Consultative Committee may, be unanimous decision, invite any non-member State of
the Council of Europe which is not a Party to the convention to be represented by an observer
at a given meeting.
Article 19
Functions of the committee
The Consultative Committee:
a. may make proposals with a view to facilitating or improving the application of the
convention;
b. may make proposals for amendment of the convention in accordance with Article 21;
c. shall formulate its opinion on any proposal for amendment of this convention which is
referred to it in accordance with Article 21, paragraph 3;
d. may, at the request of a Party, express an opinion on any question concerning the
application of this convention.
Article 20
Procedure
1. The Consultative Committee shall be convened by the Secretary General of the Council of
Europe. Its first meeting shall be held within twelve months of the entry into force of this
convention. It shall subsequently meet at least once every two years and in any case when
one-third of the representatives of the Parties request its convocation
2. A majority of representative of the Parties shall constitute a quorum for a meeting of the
Consultative Committee.
3. After each of its meetings, the Consultative Committee shall submit to the Committee of
Ministers of the Council of Europe a report on its work and on the functioning of the
convention.
4. Subject of the provisions of this convention, the Consultative Committee shall draw up its
own Rules of Procedure.
CHAPTER VI - AMENDMENTS
Article 21
Amendments
1. Amendments to this convention may be proposed by a Party, the Committee of Ministers
of the Council of Europe or the Consultative Committee.
2. Any proposal for amendment shall be communicated by the Secretary General of the
Council of Europe to the member States of the Council of Europe and to every non-member
State which has acceded to or has been invited to accede to this convention in accordance
with the provisions of Article 23.
3. Moreover, any amendment proposed by a Party or the Committee of Ministers shall be
communicated to the Consultative Committee, which shall submit to the Committee of
Ministers its opinion on that proposed amendment.
4. The Committee of Ministers shall consider the proposed amendment and any opinion
submitted by the Consultative Committee and may approve the amendment.
5. The text of any amendment approved by the Committee of Ministers in accordance with
paragraph 4 of this article shall be forwarded to the Parties for acceptance.
6. Any amendment approved in accordance with paragraph 4 of this article shall come into
force on the thirtieth day after all Parties have informed the Secretary General of their
acceptance thereof.
CHAPTER VII - FINAL CLAUSES
Article 22
Entry into force
1. This convention shall be open for signature by the member States of the Council of
Europe. It is subject to ratification, acceptance or approval. Instruments of ratification,
acceptance or approval shall be deposited with the Secretary General of the Council of
Europe.
2. This convention shall enter into force on the first day of the month following the expiration
of a period of three months after the data on which five member States of the Council of
Europe have expressed their consent to be bound by the convention in accordance with the
provisions of the preceding paragraph.
3. In respect of any member State which subsequently expresses its consent to be bound by it,
the convention shall enter into force on the first day of the month following the expiration of
a period of three months after the data of the deposit of the instrument of ratification,
acceptance or approval.
Article 23
Accession by non-member States
1. After the entry into force of this convention, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of
Europe may invite any State not a member of the Council of Europe to accede to this
convention by a decision taken by the majority provided for in Article 20.d of the Statute of
the Council of Europe and by the unanimous vote of the representatives of the Contracting
States entitled to sit on the committee.
2. In respect of any acceding State, the convention shall enter into force on the first day of the
month following the expiration of a period of three months after the date of deposit of the
instrument of accession with the Secretary General of the Council of Europe.
Article 24
Territorial clause
1. Any State may at any time of signature or when depositing its instrument of ratification,
acceptance, approval or accession, specify the territory or territories to which this convention
shall apply.
2. Any State may at any later date, by a declaration addressed to the Secretary General of the
Council of Europe, extend the application of this convention to any other territory specified
in the declaration. In respect of such territory the convention shall enter into force on the first
day of the month following the expiration of a period of three months after the date of receipt
of such declaration by the Secretary General.
3. Any declaration made under the two preceding paragraphs may, in respect of any territory
specified in such declaration, be withdrawn by a notification addressed to the Secretary
General. The withdrawal shall become effective on the first day of the month following the
expiration of a period of six months after the date of receipt of such notification by the
Secretary General.
Article 25
Reservations
No reservation may be made in respect of the provisions of this convention.
Article 26
Denunciation
1. Any Party may at any time denounce this convention by means of a notification addressed
to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe.
2. Such denunciation shall become effective on the first day of the month following the
expiration of a period of six months after the data of receipt of the notification by the
Secretary General.
Article 27
Notification
The Secretary General of the Council of Europe shall notify the member States of the Council and any State which has acceded to this convention of:
a. any signature;
b. the deposit of any instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession;
c. any date of entry into force of this convention in accordance with Articles 22, 23 and 24;
d. any other act, notification or communication relating to this convention.
In witness whereof the undersigned, being duly authorised thereto, have signed this
Convention.
Done at Strasbourg, the 28th day of January 1981, in English and in French, both texts being equally authoritative, in a single copy which shall remain deposited in the archives of the Council of Europe. The Secretary General of the Council of Europe shall transmit certified copies to each member State of the Council of Europe and to any State invited to accede to this Convention.
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Second Schedule: The Data Protection Commissioner
Section 9
SECOND SCHEDULE
The Data Protection Commissioner
1. The Commissioner shall be a body corporate and shall be independent in the performance
of his functions.
2. (1) The Commissioner shall be appointed by the Government and, subject to the provisions
of this Schedule, shall hold office upon such terms and conditions as the Government may
determine.
(2) The Commissioner-
(a) may at any time resign his office as Commissioner by letter addressed to the Secretary to
the Government and the resignation shall take effect on and from the date of receipt of the
letter,
(b) may at any time be removed from office by the Government if, in the opinion of the
Government, he has become incapable through ill-health of effectively performing his
functions or has committed stated misbehaviour, and
(c) shall, in any case, vacate the office of Commissioner on reaching the age of 65 years: but where the person is a new entrant (within the meaning of the Public Service Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2004) appointed on or after 1 April 2004, then the require-ment to vacate office on grounds of age shall not apply.
3. The term of office of a person appointed to be the Commissioner shall be such term not
exceeding 5 years as the Government may determine at the time of his appointment and,
subject to the provisions of this Schedule, he shall be eligible for re-appointment to the office.
4. (1) Where the Commissioner is-
(a) nominated as a member of Seanad Eireann,
(b) elected as a member of either House of the Oireachtas, the European Parliament or a local
authority, or
(c) regarded pursuant to section 15 (inserted by the European Assembly Elections Act, 1984)
of the European Assembly Elections Act, 1977, as having been elected to such Parliament to
fill a vacancy,
he shall thereupon cease to be the Commissioner.
(2) A person who is for the time being-
(i) entitled under the standing orders of either House of the Oireachtas to sit therein,
(ii) a member of the European Parliament, or
(iii) entitled under the standing orders of a local authority to sit therein,
shall, while he is so entitled or is such a member, be disqualified for holding the office of
Commissioner.
5. The Commissioner shall not hold any other office or employment in respect of which
emoluments are payable.
6. There shall be paid to the Commissioner, out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas, such
remuneration and allowances for expenses as the Minister, with the consent of the Minister
for Finance, may from time to time determine.
7. (a) The Minister shall, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, make and carry out, in
accordance with its terms, a scheme or schemes for the granting of pensions, gratuities or
other allowances on retirement or death to or in respect of persons who have held the office
of Commissioner.
(b) The Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, at any time make and
carry out, in accordance with its terms, a scheme or schemes amending or revoking a scheme
under this paragraph.
(c) A scheme under this paragraph shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon
as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the scheme is passed by either such
House within the next 21 days on which that House has sat after the scheme is laid before it,
the scheme shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything
previously done thereunder.
8. (1) The Minister may appoint to be members of the staff of the Commissioner such number
of persons as may be determined from time to time by the Minister, with the consent of the
Minister for Finance.
(2) Members of the staff of the Commissioner shall be civil servants.
(3) The functions of the Commissioner under this Act may be performed during his
temporary absence by such member of the staff of the Commissioner as he may designate for
that purpose.
(4) The Minister may delegate to the Commissioner the powers exercisable by him under the
Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Act 2004, and the Civil Service Regulation Acts, 1956 and 1958, as the appropriate authority in relation to members of the staff of the Commissioner and, if he does so, then so long as the delegation remains in force-
(a) those powers shall, in lieu of being exercisable by the Minister, be exercisable by the Commissioner, and
(b) the Commissioner shall, in lieu of the Minister, be for the purposes of this Act the
appropriate authority in relation to members of the staff of the Commissioner.
9. (1) The Commissioner shall keep in such form as may be approved of by the Minister, with
the consent of the Minister for Finance, all proper and usual accounts of all moneys received
or expended by him and all such special accounts (if any) as the Minister, with the consent of
the Minister for Finance, may direct.
(2) Accounts kept in pursuance of this paragraph in respect of each year shall be submitted by
the Commissioner in the following year on a date (not later than a date specified by the
Minister) to the Comptroller and Auditor General for audit and, as soon as may be after the
audit, a copy of those accounts, or of such extracts from those accounts as the Minister may
specify, together with the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General on the accounts,
shall be presented by the Commissioner to the Minister who shall cause copies of the
documents presented to him to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas.
10 (1) A person who holds or held the office of Commissioner or who is or was a member of
the staff of the Commissioner shall not disclose to a person other than the Commissioner or
such a member any information that is obtained by him or her in his capacity as
Commissioner or as such a member that could reasonably be regarded as confidential without
the consent of the person to whom it relates.
(2) A person who contravenes subparagraph (1) of this paragraph shall be guilty of an
offence.