Sherlock: Govt using GDPR as a ‘diversion’ on bin waiver scheme
THE Government had been accused of using GDPR as a “diversion” to stall the roll-out of a bin waiver for families and persons with lifelong or longterm medical incontinence.
The issue has been raised in the Dáil by Cork East Labour TD Seán Sherlock, who said the €75 waiver, announced in July of last year, has still to be rolled out.
He said there were a number of instances, including a specific case in his own constituency of a young man who has a long-term need, that have still not been addressed.
“I want to seek clarification as to the status of the €75 support announced by the Government in 2017 and further enhanced this year. Is this €75, which is a significant amount of money when the cost of waste for an average household is quite high on an annual basis, available?”
“It would give untold support to families who are desperately in need,” said Deputy Sherlock.
In response, Junior Minister Ciarán Cannon conceded that the process had taken “far longer that originally envisaged” and there were a number of reasons for that.
“In particular, data protection issues have arisen since the introduction of GDPR. As the Deputy is aware any information that relates to the physical health of a person is sensitive personal data and must be treated very carefully,” said Minister Cannon.
“However, I understand that there is a commitment to introducing a support, as soon as practically possible, in conjunction with relevant agencies and stakeholders.”
Deputy Sherlock refuted the GDPR argument as a dodging mechanism, pointing out there had been numerous warnings on ‘data prone’ action over the years leading up to the introduction of GDPR.
“The GDPR issues could have been anticipated because that was coming down the line from Europe. I suggest that throwing up the issue of data protection is a bit of a diversion at this stage,” said Deputy Sherlock.
He said numerous departments handle personal details about individuals, one of which could quite easily handle the administering of this particular scheme.
“I am not buying the argument that data protection is the issue here and I am imploring that the Government come back to me with a solution and a timeline for this scheme. This waiver would have a massive impact on families with regard to reducing their waste disposal costs,” said Deputy Sherlock.
“This is not an insurmountable issue and I believe that, with a little bit of energy on the part of the Government, it would be very easy to design a scheme to meet the needs of the people we are trying to represent here,” he added.