Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 April 2023
85. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Justice the steps he is taking to stop convicted sex offenders from using the EU digital right to be forgotten to erase media reports of their convictions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16888/23]
View answerAs the Deputy is aware, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is an EU Regulation, by which Ireland is bound and the European Court of Justice is responsible for the interpretation of European law, including the GDPR.
The "right to be forgotten" is a data protection right which the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) established in the 2014 “Google Spain” case and was subsequently legislated for in the GDPR. In this ruling, the CJEU established that users can ask search engines to hide certain URLs from search results when a search is conducted using their name and the content on the page the URL points to includes information that is “inadequate, irrelevant or no longer relevant, or excessive.”
It gives people the right to seek the deletion of their data from a site, however, it does not give a guarantee this will be done.
The Court established in the "Google Spain" and subsequent cases, that the right to be forgotten does not apply to information that is relevant to the public interest, including previous convictions for sexual crimes.
I want to be very clear here in saying that the GDPR does not give convicted sex offenders any automatic right to have their previous convictions deleted from search engines.
While it is not open to me, as Minister for Justice, to change the application or interpretation of the GDPR, I understand the Deputy’s concerns and I am determined keep our communities safe.
As the Deputy is aware, the Sex Offenders (Amendment) Act 2023 strengthens our already robust system for monitoring sex offenders. The Act reduces, from 7 to 3 days, the period for sex-offenders to inform Gardaí -
• of their name and address within 3 days of leaving prison;
• of any change to their name or address within 3 days;
• if they are going to be outside the State for more than 3 days;
• if they are returning to the State having been outside it for 3 days;
• if they are at an address in the State for 3 days and that address has not been notified to AGS;
• or every 12 months if they had not notified within the previous 12 months.
The Act also allows for the electronic tagging of offenders and for the Gardaí to disclose information about a sex offender’s previous convictions to a member or members of the public where the offender poses a risk of causing harm.
The law relating to sexual offences is kept constantly under review. Later this year I will publish a the Sexual Offences Bill to provide greater protections and supports to victims of sexual offences and human trafficking, ensuring this important area of law is robust and up to date.
