Ivana Bacik
Question:506. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Justice the budget allocation for the Data Protection Commission in each of the years 2019, 2020 and to date in 2021, in tabular form. [45209/21]
View answerTuesday, 21 September 2021
Questions (506)
Written answers
The figures requested by the Deputy are set out in the following table. There has been a continued year-on-year increase in funding for the Data Protection Commission (DPC) , which has its own Vote since 1 January 2020.
|
Year |
Allocated DPC Funding |
Underspends |
|
2021 |
€19,100,000 |
- |
|
2020 |
€16,916,000 |
€4.7m |
|
2019 |
€15,280,000 |
€4.8m |
The Commission received an allocation of €19.1 million in funding under Budget 2021. This represents a 13% increase on the €16.9 million that was allocated for 2020 and a more than five-fold increase from its 2015 allocation of €3.647m, in line with its increased functions. The expenditure to the end of August 2021 is €7.8 million.
There has also been a continued increase in the Commission’s staffing, most recently from 145 at the end of 2020 to 178 as of August 2021.
My Department has also supported the Commission in securing sanction for a new Dublin office premises in May 2021 alongside the ongoing operation of its office in Portarlington.
The Programme for Government clearly commits to ‘Recognise the domestic and international importance of data protection in Ireland.’ Moreover, that the Government ‘will ensure that Ireland delivers on its responsibilities under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)’.
In keeping with these commitments, my Department will continue to monitor the impact of implementation of the GDPR, the impact of any possible future regulatory changes as well as any changes within industry, in conjunction with the DPC, to ensure that the DPC continues to have the resources required to fulfil its important, statutory obligations. The existence of a professional and competent data protection regulator in Ireland is also a critical enabler to the development and growth of our digital economy.
Question No. 507 answered with Question No. 503.
Question No. 508 answered with Question No. 503.