Taoiseach defends Irish data protection commissioner in Germany

Taoiseach Micheál Martin says Ireland's data protection commissioner Helen Dixon is "well up to the mark", and that Ireland should be "more robust" in defending her record in enforcing EU privacy laws.

During his visit to Berlin on Tuesday, Mr Martin praised Ms Dixon's "competence and ability" and suggested her critics "may be doing this for their own interests".

“I don’t readily agree with a lot of the arguments put forward in the first instance. I think we need a more objective assessment of this,” said Mr Martin.

Jens Zimmermann, digital spokesman for Germany's ruling Social Democratic Party (SPD), has flagged Ireland's approach to data protection as a growing burden to Ireland's reputation in Germany, similar to that caused by its corporate tax policy.

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Criticism of the Irish regulator has been building in the EU over the past four years since a new EU data protection rulebook (GDPR) came into force in 2018, handing Dublin the lead regulatory role in policing large Dublin-based tech companies such as Facebook.

On Monday Ms Dixon’s office announced it had issued a revised preliminary decision in a long-running legal battle that is expected to halt transatlantic data transfers by Facebook.

Last year, as criticism grew of the pace of rulings from the commission around Europe, the Dáil justice committee held a hearing and, in July, recommended a full examination of the office's procedures by the Department of Justice.

As a matter of urgency, the committee urged the data protection commission to provide greater clarity over its procedures and shift from “recommendations to enforcement” of data protection laws. Failure to do so, it added, would mean “that not only will the fundamental rights of individuals remain imperilled, but the DPC will face a more emboldened and entrenched group of systematic infringers”.

Call for debate

Speaking in Berlin on Tuesday, Mr Martin said Europe needed a wider debate on data protection issues and that he didn’t have an exact time for any Department of Justice review of DPC procedures.

The Irish Council of Civil Liberties (ICCL) has flagged the issue with EU ombudsman Emily O’Reilly. She has begun an investigation into the European Commission’s approach to data protection and whether it believes GDPR rules are “applied in all respects in Ireland”.

ICCL fellow Johnny Ryan said that millions of Europeans relied on Ireland to "see that Google and Facebook stop misusing their personal data".

“This is a critically important issue of fundamental rights,” he said.

Austrian privacy campaigner Max Schrems, a vocal critic of the DPC, said he was not impressed with Mr Martin's remarks.

“Instead of addressing objective criticism, such as how more than 99 per cent of all complaints to the DPC do not see a formal decision, we see deflection,” he said. “I doubt that European partners will be impressed.

European Commissioner Didier Reynders, in a letter to MEPs last month, said the DPC was right to proceed cautiously in cases, including the “complex matter” of its Facebook investigation.

He acknowledged that there were “different views and approaches” around Europe on how best to implement GDPR.