Thread by @maeveorourke

#Stand4Truth

If DPC said exact opposite, how can the AG have advised & Government swallowed (while refusing to release any of the correspondence) that GDPR was ‘explicitly excluded’ from applying to Commission’s archive?(see 👇)

irishexaminer.com/news/arid-4007…

DPC statement in thread:

“The DPC was consulted by the Department on the Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) for the Commission of Investigation (Mother and Baby Homes and certain related Matters) Records, and another Matter, Bill 2020.

The DPC provided a number of observations on the DPIA. In relation to the matter you raise about “Rights of Access” to information, it should be noted firstly that the rights under data protection legislation relate specifically to a right of access by an individual to their own

personal data held by an organisation rather than a broader “right to information”. Secondly, the Data Protection Act 2018, in Section 198, explicitly amended Section 39 of the Commission of Investigation Act 2004 and now provides that any restriction on the right to access

personal data processed by the Commission can only be implemented “to the extent necessary and proportionate to safeguard the effective operation of commissions and the future cooperation of witnesses”.

It would appear to the DPC to be the case that the separate provisions of the 2004 Act in relation to the sealing of documents were not intended in the context of the amendment to the 2018 Act to provide an effective “blanket” barrier to the exercise of rights.

It is necessary for the Department to demonstrate why in all the circumstances of this Commission it would be necessary to restrict rights of access and equally it is necessary for the Department to consider how in practical terms they can ensure that the provisions on sealing in

the 2004 Act do not render the exercise of rights impossible where the necessity and proportionality of restricting those rights is not made out.”