'Incredibly bizarre' for Govt to challenge Data Protection Commissioner’s rulings on Public Services Card

The Government’s decision to challenge the Data Protection Commissioner’s highly adversarial rulings on the Public Services Card has been condemned as “ludicrous” and “incredibly bizarre”.

It has been reported that the Departments of Social Protection and Public Expenditure and Reform are to bring a memorandum to Cabinet arguing that on foot of new advice from the Attorney General and an external counsel the DPC’s decision is open to question in the courts.

Specifically the memo reportedly asserts that the Commissioner, Helen Dixon, erred legally in ruling against the card and exceeded her powers in doing so.

It is also believed that the Minister for Social Protection Regina Doherty will now not publish the DPC’s final report on the card, despite stating in late August that she would do so in full “once a full consideration of the report is complete”.

The Government’s decision was received with opprobrium from privacy groups and the opposition in the Dáil.

“It is ludicrous that they are going to sit on the report now,” said TJ McIntyre, chair of Digital Rights Ireland.

It highlights how absurd it is to discuss a matter of crucial public policy when suppressing the information that we need to see.

It is not yet known which legal avenue the Government will pursue. Two such routes appear to be open to it - either an appeal via the Circuit or High Court, or an application for Judicial Review.

Both such actions could see the matter taken to the Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxembourg, a process which could take up to three years at a cost of anything over €500,000.

“This is the second time in weeks in which the State has refused to accept a ruling of its own independent regulator against itself,” Mr McIntyre said, referring to Ms Doherty’s recent decision to apply for judicial review on a DPC ruling concerning the data gathering surrounding child benefit payments. “It will prove to be very expensive and costly. It’s an incredibly bizarre choice to make.”

Catherine Murphy, Social Democrats co-leader, said the decision to take the DPC to court left the Government open to 'very, very serious questions':

The Government is going to war with its own regulator. What have they to hide? If the State feels that it has a case, well then let’s see it.

Willie O’Dea, Fianna Fáil’s social protection spokesperson who recently said his party would not support any attempt to legislate for the PSC in order to make it legal retroactively, described the news as “completely unacceptable”.

“They won’t publish a report delivered by an agency set up to advise them in the first place, and instead they’re off to court without consulting parliament,” he said. “They should publish the report, and the legal advice they’ve gotten, and let us discuss it. To do otherwise is high-handed and highly undemocratic.”

Liam Herrick, executive director at the Irish Council for Civil Liberties said: “It would be absolutely astounding for the Government to refuse to publish now. The stakes are very, very high here. Other people will be watching this, the DPC has important investigations ongoing into private sector bodies at the moment. This is a very regrettable course of action.”