Press release
Ministers Donohoe TD and O’Donovan TD Publish the Data Sharing and Governance Bill 2018
From Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform
Published on
Last updated on
Bill sets out legal basis for the sharing of data between public bodies with appropriate safeguards
The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Mr Paschal Donohoe, TD and the Minister of State for Public Procurement, Open Government and eGovernment, Mr Patrick O’Donovan, TD today (12 June 2018) published the Data Sharing and Governance Bill 2018 following approval by the Government.
The purpose of this Bill is to provide a generalised legal basis for the sharing of data between public bodies while also setting out appropriate safeguards under which such sharing should take place.
Enactment of this legislation will deliver tangible benefits to the public and to business. Sharing and reusing data will cut down on waste and duplication by ensuring that individuals and businesses should not have to supply the same information more than once to public bodies. More extensive data sharing will also support better policy development and more efficient and effective policy implementation.
The Bill also sets out a series of important governance measures to ensure that personal data is shared by public bodies in a lawful, proportionate and transparent manner in accordance with national and EU data protection law, including the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Development of this legislation has also created an opportunity to provide for more consistent and improved safeguards in relation to public service data management. Accordingly, the scope of the governance provisions in the Bill go beyond the sharing of data and into strengthening how the public service manages its data in respect of how data is collected and processed, how data is kept secure, and how access to data is controlled, monitored and logged.
Minister Donohoe said:
“This Bill is key to delivering on our public service reform commitments to expand digital delivery of services and make greater use of data. It will also provide for stronger governance and transparency by public service bodies in the way they share and manage data, which will assist public bodies in meeting the more stringent data protection requirements provided for under the GDPR.”
Minister of State O’Donovan added:
“Significant opportunities are offered by making better use of data. Citizens and businesses can receive better services. Public bodies can operate more effectively and efficiently at a lower cost to the Exchequer. Better access to data will improve decision making and planning in the delivery of services.”
Minister of State O’Donovan went on to say:
“The public also has a strong expectation that their data protection rights will be respected and public bodies will use personal data responsibly, proportionately and securely. As the volume of data and our capacity to deliver digital services grow, the opportunities to improve services increase — but so too must our governance of citizens’ data".
"This Bill will ensure that appropriate safeguards, accountability and transparency are in place to build the public’s trust in public bodies’ usage of their data. Accordingly, this Bill will be a very important stepping stone in helping take forward the Government’s ambition to be an exemplar in the processing of citizen data.”
The Bill is available above along with it's Explanatory Memorandum. A Regulatory Impact Analysis was conducted when the general scheme of the Bill was being drafted.
Policy background
The introduction of legislation to support the public service in making better use of the data it holds is a key commitment in the Government’s reform programme. Enactment of this Bill is essential to the successful delivery of Action 1: Accelerate Digital Delivery of Services in Our Public Service 2020
Our Public Service 2020, the new framework for development and innovation in the public service. It is also one the 10 key actions in the eGovernment Strategy 2017 – 2020
Key provisions of the Bill
The Bill provides a generalised legal basis for data sharing between public bodies for specific, legitimate purposes, including:
In addition, the Bill includes a number of provisions to ensure better data governance across the public service through:
Other key provisions in the Bill include powers to: