HELEN DIXON IS stepping down from her role as a Commissioner at the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) after just over a year in the job.

The senior civil servant, who served as Data Protection Commission between 2014 and 2024, announced her decision to step down and “try something new” in a post online today.

Dixon, who also previously held senior roles within the Department of Trade and Enterprise and the Registrar of Companies, is stepping away from the regulation sector completely after 18 years. 

“I want to thank the expert and committed staff there and wish them ongoing success,” Dixon said today in a post on LinkedIn, further thanking the wider stakeholders in the  regulator.

Dixon also expressed gratitude to complainants and end-users, “who make the effort to bring issues to the surface so that better services can be achieved and guaranteed”.

“I don’t know at this point what form(s) my next act will take. I’m going to take a little time to reflect on that,” she added.

She joined the electronic and postal communications watchdog at a “challenging period” for the regulator, former Communications Minister Eamon Ryan said upon the announcement of her appointment in 2023.

It was hoped, according to Ryan, that Dixon’s addition could help to strengthen the leadership at the watchdog and enforce and enhance necessary regulatory processes.

During her time in the role at ComReg, she oversaw a legal case against telecommunications firm Eir over its handling of customer complaints.

The watchdog has also recently called for the establishment of a text message registry to combat SMS scams.

Dixon oversaw the Data Protection Commission at a time where the size and remit of the regulator’s work became more intense and complex, with changes to the use of citizens’ personal information by firms and other entities online.

She gained global notoriety, in 2016, following the introduction of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation – as the act placed strict rules on social media companies, many of which are based in Ireland.

The New York Times named her as “one of tech’s most important regulators” in 2018.

A 2019 report published by Dixon into the Public Service Card scheme caused a major political row after it expressed concerns over the then-government’s implementation of the scheme, after 3.2 million citizens’ data was found to be improperly retained by the State.

Minister for Social Affairs at the time Regina Doherty, a current Fine Gael MEP, appealed the report’s findings, causing a tetchy Dáil row over the decision.