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EU Directives

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 May 2012

Tuesday, 22 May 2012

Ceisteanna (359)

Tom Hayes

Ceist:

456 Deputy Tom Hayes asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources in relation to the implementation of Statutory Instrument No. 336 of 2011, the reasons Ireland chose the opt in rather than the opt out clause under Article 13 section 3 of EU Directive 2009/136/EC on electronic contact with consumers; the nature and extent of the consultation process undertaken in advance of the implementation of S.I. No. 336 of 2011; if submissions were received and if such are publicly available; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25111/12]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

The rules to which the Deputy refers are the European Communities (Electronic Communications Networks and Services) Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2011. Statutory Instrument S.I. No. 336 of 2011 transposes the requirements of EU Directive 2002/58/EC concerning the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector (ePrivacy Directive) as amended by the EU Directive 2009/136/EC (Citizens' Rights Directive).

Regulation 13 of S.I. No. 336 seeks to protect individuals from receiving unsolicited communications for the purposes of direct marketing. This Regulation covers the making of unsolicited phone calls and the sending of unsolicited fax messages, email and SMS (text messages) for direct marketing purposes and gives individuals the right to prevent organisations from using electronic means to contact them in order to sell a product or service. The requirement of this Regulation extends to all forms of marketing carried out by means of publicly available electronic communications services.

The Regulation transposes an amendment to Article 13 of the 2002 Directive which was transposed into domestic law in 2003. At the time of transposition in 2003 opt-out consent was provided for electronic marketing communications sent by an entity where the consumer has a prior business relationship. Prior opt-in consent was provided for situations where the receiver has no business relationship with the sender. This has remained unchanged since. The new S.I. maintains these provisions. No substantive case was made to change the balance struck which is consumer friendly and is aimed at ensuring proper protection from spam.

Two consultations were held prior to the transposition of the Directives, one in 2010 following the adoption of the Directives and a second in 2011 when the draft Regulations were available. The Department also met with industry and agency representatives throughout the transposition process and the Regulations were drafted in consultation with the Data Protection Commissioner who is responsible for the enforcement of the S.I. Consultation is a regular feature in the formulation of policy and legislation and the details of the consultations are not published in this instance. Should the Deputy require any further clarification on aspects of the transposition, officials in my Department would be happy to speak further with him.

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