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THE ROAD SAFETY Authority has only published provisional data on road traffic collisions for the past five years due to GDPR concerns.
The issue was raised in a written Dáil question last month by Labour leader Ivana Bacik.
She asked if Transport Minister Eamon Ryan’s attention has been “drawn to the fact that the Road Safety Authority has not published any data on road traffic collisions since 2016”.
She then asked when up-to-date data would be made available.
In response, Minister of State at the Department of Transport Hildegarde Naughton said she was advised that “in light of GDPR requirements, the RSA is currently reviewing their road traffic collision data sharing policies and procedures”.
Minister Naughton added that “individual record-level data cannot be shared until this review is concluded over the coming months”.
One this review is completed, Minister Naughton said the “RSA expect to implement revised policies and procedures to permit GDPR compliant access to relevant RTC data”.
She then pointed to “provisional aggregated data” that the RSA has been publishing in the meantime.
The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, was adopted in 2016 and came into force on 25 May, 2018.
GDPR’s primary aim is to enhance people’s control and rights to their personal data.
According to the RSA’s research department, all data from 2018 onwards is “provisional and subject to change”.
In a statement to The Journal, a spokesperson for the RSA confirmed that it is in the process of reviewing its road traffic collision data sharing policies and procedures.
The spokesperson explained that this is being done “in light of the fact that the data must be treated as personal data in order to comply with GDPR demands”.
They added: “Record-level RTC data cannot be shared until this review is complete but we expect this to be finalised in the coming months.”
“At that point, the RSA will have new policies and procedures in place for access to RTC information and data,” said the spokesperson, who also highlighted the RSA’s provisional aggregated data.
“These new policies and procedures will be underpinned by a variety of legislative instruments, as well as specific measures designed to share data in a GDPR compliant manner.”
Scrap dail bar scrap millage expenses for driving to work scrap pensions till your 66 and half them half wages half number of yeah in the dail. Now that’s my last rant I am off to enjoy my weekend beer and hurling :)
An even simpler question to put to the people would be about the bank guarantee. LESS than 1% of the people decided on the bank guarantee and that guarantee has had a more dramatic and debilitating effect on the people of Ireland than the Seanad which, as Bruton points out, has no power.
Defeat of this referendum will deliver a bloody nose to Enda and to his arrogance.
I’ll keep it if it dose give enda a slap in the face. Well worth the money
So tired of hearing about that blessed 20 million a year saving! Seems too round a figure to be plausible: why not 19 or 21 million?
Even if they did save it there is no guarantee that it would be revamped into hospitals or Other.When you think of the amount of money that might have to be used to bail out the health department 20 million is not that much.
And they haven’t said how much the new Court will cost to set up and run.
Richard the Dail as it is – is a luxury we cannot afford. Reduce that by 66 TD’s and then I migh vote yes. How does it feel btw to singing from the same hymn sheet as SF? What strange bed fellows. Were you pushing for the abolishment of the senate while you were in opposition?
We do not have an elected government in the dail. We have a coalition that is not mandated by Irish people.
No one voted for this government, politicians themselves took the power away from the people and formed their own government.
The dail is an ‘undemocratic institution’.
Time to put ‘coalition choices’ on the ballot paper.
Its time to shut up about the senate and get of your arse and get some real jobs for the people of this country.
Do you not understand democracy? No single party won enough seats to go it alone. Coalition was exactly what the people voted for.
Clearly I have a better understanding of democracy than you.
The people did not vote for a coalition. I didn’t see an option on the ballot paper for a coalition, neither did you.
Politicians formed a government, not the people.
Clearly you don’t get it, you and your ilk are all that’s wrong with this country.
If ever there was a reason to keep it this is it.
I wouldn’t believe a word uttered from any of their mouths.
Abolishing the Seanad is like lopping off your arm, going to weight watchers and saying “Look. I’ve lost weight”
Wait for the “Ooohh you look FABulous”.
Not
This article starts and finishes with the assertion that abolition would save €20m per year. This has been shown to be wrong and its inclusion in the article makes the other points questionable.
David Norris took that one apart on today fm yesterday.
Gave some compelling reasons to keep and reform too.
Think there’s a podcast on Ray Darcys show, the only airtime he could get.
Would thejournal ask him to do an article like this one?
I don’t give a damn about your opinion Bruton
Ivor callely.
there’s an old saying along the lines of: ‘when the wise man points to the stars, the idiot looks at his finger’.
A €20m saving to the taxpayer sounds like a decent chunk of change but it actually only represents 0.0001% of our debt. That’s like saving 20c off the price of a new car.
This referendum is therefore about more than cost savings.
Some argue it’s nothing but an elitist forum. Well, I’d love to know how one defines ‘elitist’. If, as many regimes in the past have, you define them as ‘intellectuals’, then, quite frankly, I’m all for it. Let’s face reality here. We need people smarter than ourselves, people not simply elected off the back of a traditional vote or a populist agenda, to debate new pieces of potential legislation before they’re forced into law by the party with the most people.
We need people who can see beyond the short term saving and interrogate the longer term implications.
The Seanad has/could have a vital role to play in protecting the interests of Ireland and the essence of ‘being Irish’.
We need people who look at the stars and are not just ‘finger watchers’.
Think about what’s happens when there are no questioning voices – the will of one person can become law all too easily.
Fix it if it needs to be fixed.
Do we not also need an upper and a lower house to be a republic/democracy?? Otherwise becoming a monarchy or a dictatorship?
Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Four simply words but never were their meaning so true. This citizen has absolutely no intention of delivering to the present arrogant administration one ounce more power. If ever there was an attempt at political vandalism this is it. The Seanad is an integral part of the houses of our Oireachtas. The current attack on the Seanad is simply political opportunism. It is a power grab by an administration which by default currently happen to have a significant majority. You are in power now folks on foot of a massive vote of protest against the last administration at the last general election. Our choices at the ballot were very limited. You reneged on a range of undertakings which you gave to your respective support bases in exchange for their support. If you want to do something useful go and reform the Seanad. This citizen is voting NO to Seanad abolition in the forthcoming referendum.
@Frank Lennon:
Very well said Frank, I couldn’t have put it better myself.
Fine Gaels campaign to abolish the Seanad:
1. It will save €20 million per year.
No, it won’t.
2. It’s eletist
Fine Gael have protected the elites at the cost of the most vulnerable.
The only reason they are making those (false) arguments is filth politic populism. It won them the last election on a pack of lies after all.
Reasons I’ll be voting ‘No’.
1. Most people I know want reform so the Seanad can hold the government to account. If its abolished whatever small chance we have of happening dies with it.
2. We can’t trust fine gael. They already manufactured a reichstag type emergency to force through more powers in the middle of the night. Think they’re doing this for the benefit of the irish people after that?
3. Their arguments are so transparently bad that the leader of their party can’t even debate them. As it involves such a massive change to our governance and constitution, the only prudent thing to do in absense of a proper argument to abolish is to vote to retain it.
Richard yourself and Naoise O’Muiri lied to me in person outside Artane Castle prior to the last election regarding more money for banks. Why should I believe you now?
I’ll be voting to keep.
And enough with the one per cent. The councillors, who elect most senators, are elected by the people. So we do have a vote. The same type of vote we have for Taoiseach. An indirect one.
Vote NO on the double to this European power grab led by their puppet enda on referendum day.
Future outlook of world = Power grab by corrupt and criminal government = Bad f**king idea.
Vote no! why? Because the government want you to vote yes. simple as.
God thats good logic..
Your living in an illogical society, don’t you know?
I remember when Bertie gave Eoghan Harris the gig, when independent papers backed FF during a election campaign ,I thought that was corrupt then as I do now. So ill be voting to get rid.
The €20m saving argument is not credible and is disrespectful to continue to promote with the Ref Commission state that they cannot stand over that figure.
I am also fed up hearing about all of these other small nations with no upper house. I am sure these countries don’t have ridiculously bloated health systems or some of the highest wages among lower house politicians. You could find your €20m there very quickly if the Government had the political vision and fortitude to match their verbosity and arrogance towards its population.
For “We will not reform the political system unless you abolish the Seanad”, read “It is my ball and if you don’t want to play by my rules I am am taking my ball home!”
There is no way I will vote for a reform of our political system predicated on opportunism (see Kenny’s flip-flop conversion on the road from Glenties) and a short-term view of what our society requires.
Political creche and convalescent home, nicely put Richard, its as good a descriptive phrase as your likely to get. The real tragedy is that it took so long to see and take note of the glaringly obvious. This sadly is what the Seanad is and will remain if it is given a lifeline by those who seem to think it’s going to be reformed. I for one hope to see it’s demise, and we finally see an end to this retirement home for failed politicians.
Some of the “failed politicians” you are referring to James. Éamon de Buitléar, Garret FitzGerald, Douglas Hyde, Catherine McGuinness, Seamus Mallon, Conor Cruise O’Brien, Mary Robinson, T. K. Whitaker, Gordon Wilson…….
Exactly Kerry! Bruton just sh&t all over the proud legacy of some of our best ever politicians. He does a disservice to his own office by insulting the work that some of our best and brightest have done.
I’d like to see him step onto the world stage and do amazing work like Mary Robinson. He knows he never could because he doesnt have the brains or balla for it.
Shame on you Richard!
Certainly a nice retirement home Kerry to beef up their coffers, your point is well taken.
That’s a nice list of people who sat in the Seanad but whose achievements were all made outside the house.
It’s a power grab. Plain and simple.
What power?
Vote no to the appeals court too. The court system is being expanded to deal with the large scale repossessions the banks want to pursue and this government is complicite.
They are saying Scrap the Senad. They would want to have a good look at themselves as well. There are people in the Senad quite capable of running the country better that some of them in Dail Eireann. They would make you sick. They take people for fools. There have been many good senators in the past who have made their mark. So there you are.THEY SHOULD HAVE GIVEN THE PEOPLE A BETTER CHOICE.What are they afraid of.
Mr Bruton writes of the electorate facing a simple yes or no question in the Seanad referendum.
Other questions that follow are;
Who is asking and why?
Do I believe that I am being given a straight answer?
What have those asking the question done to make me trust them?
Even if I receive answers to these questions that would otherwise persuade me to vote yes, I still have to balance in Enda Kennys refusal to debate the issues involved.
What is he afraid of, and what is he hiding about the implications of the vote being carried.
Scrap the bull burton
They say the Senad is undemocratic you would think the dail is undemocratic at times the way they are behaving when it comes to votes like the Abortion issue.
Liar.
I used the Abortion issue as a case in Point. I am not in anyway supporting the Concept of Abortion.When that Issue came up in the Dail those who voted with their con. were thrown out of the finna gale Party. In that situation I was saying that the Dail is undemocratic.
I’m voting Yes because it will save €20 million a year.
We can always introduce a Seanad ( a reformed Seanad) in the future after another election. Maybe in 10 or 20 years time.
have your say