Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 21 June 2018
110. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the status of the €4 million allocated to regulatory functions and the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner as outlined in budget 2018; the amount that has been spent; the way in which the money has been spent; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27248/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn Budget 2018 the Data Protection Commission (DPC) was allocated an increase of just over €4m on the DPC’s 2017 total allocation of €7.5m.
This increase is being used by the DPC to continue to build capacity and capability within the organisation to enable it to effectively perform its expanded regulatory functions and more prominent international role under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the new Data Protection Act 2018.
Total expenditure to end May 2018 is approximately €2.8m. Expenditure for the rest of the year is expected to increase with the recruitment of additional expert staff, including legal, technology, investigations and data protection specialists.
Additional funding is also being dedicated to a number of important projects such as a major programme of public GDPR awareness and to the redesign and enhancement of the DPC’s business processes, systems and structures in light of the requirements of the GDPR.
