I advise the Deputy that, as Minister, I play no role in the day-to-day operations of NAMA, which are set out in the NAMA Act 2009. As such, it is not appropriate for me, as a Minister, to discuss with NAMA how it should deal with an operational matter such as this. I can confirm, however, that my officials have been briefed on this matter. I am informed that, having considered the decision of the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner carefully and with the benefit of expert advice, NAMA has decided not to appeal the decision. I am advised that NAMA is instead working constructively with the Data Protection Commissioner and the parties concerned in dealing with the request, having regard to the guidance provided by the Data Protection Commissioner in the decision. In doing so, I am informed that NAMA has, since the decision, taken considerable steps to identify and isolate all potential sources of personal data it may continue to hold concerning the parties and fully address the issues raised in the decision.
This dataset was assembled some weeks ago and is in the course of being reviewed with assistance from an external provider with expertise in this area to identify the potential sources of personal data. I am advised that NAMA will begin to provide the output of this review to the parties concerned shortly. This will be done in batches given the quantity of data involved. The steps taken thus far, I am informed, have been notified to both the Data Protection Commissioner and the parties concerned, and NAMA has agreed to keep these parties updated on progress on this review.