Latest news with #DaraghO'Brien
Irish Examiner
4 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Examiner
Government's appeal of fine over Public Services Card a 'waste of taxpayer's money', says expert
A data protection expert has claimed the Government's decision to take legal action against the Data Protection Commission over the Public Services Card will equate to a 'long drawn-out waste of taxpayer's money'. Daragh O'Brien, a data strategist and managing director of data protection consultancy Castlebridge, said the Government's challenge to the recent adverse decision by the commission regarding the public service card will in all likelihood end up before the Court of Justice of the EU, a process that will likely take several years and incur hundreds of thousands of euros in legal fees. Last month's decision by the DPC related to a four-year-long investigation into the alleged biometric nature of the PSC – the welfare benefits card used daily by millions of Irish citizens which can also be utilised to access separate State services. In addition to hitting the Department of Social Protection with a record €550,000 fine, the DPC ordered the department to cease processing biometric data — capturing the physical or behavioral characteristics of a person — with the card within nine months unless it could establish a valid legal basis for its doing so. Most experts had presumed the only way for the department to successfully comply with that order would be to pass legislation grounding the card's biometric nature within the law. Instead, the department on Monday lodged legal papers in the High Court objecting to the DPC's decision. 'It would seem that rather than take the time generously allowed by the DPC to cure the issues identified in their unpublished decision that gave rise to the fine and enforcement notice, the department has opted to fight,' Mr O'Brien said of the new legal action. It is not the first time the department has taken the legal route with the DPC in light of an adverse decision regarding the card. In 2019, the department appealed a previous decision by the commission ruling that the card could not be made mandatory for accessing public services, leading to a prolonged battle in the courts. 'I predict a long, drawn-out waste of taxpayer's money on a battle that will wind up in the CJEU with another loss for the State,' Mr O'Brien said. A spokesperson for the department said that the decision to appeal had been taken on consultation with the Attorney General. 'The department believes that its processing of biometric data is compliant with data protection law,' they said. Read More
Irish Examiner
04-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Cork to get seven new EV charging stations by the end of the year
Cork is to get seven new electric vehicle (EV) charging stations under new plans announced by the Government on Wednesday. The stations will be along the N20, N22 and N25 and will be located at: Lee's Centra, Charleville Mac's Place Mallow Plaza Dano's Supervalu, Mallow Charleville Park Hotel O'Leary's, Lissarda Centra, Carrigtwohill Centra, Castlemartyr Kerry and Limerick will each see three new EV stations introduced. Kerry's will be at Fairtree Café, Centra at The Rock and Centra in The Reeks, while Limerick's will be at Weev Charging in Templeglantine, Hodkinson's Centra in Patrickswell, and Dooley's SuperValu in Newcastle West. Two new stations will be located in Waterford at Applegreen Lemybrien and Kilmeadan Business Centre. Making the announcement, Transport Minister Daragh O'Brien said the move would result in 'more chargers, more choice and more support,' 'We're taking real, practical steps to make electric vehicles work for everyone. With more chargers, more choices, and more support, we hope even more people will feel confident making the switch to electric," Mr O'Brien said. These high-powered chargers are a key step in that process. "We're committed to building a sustainable and cleaner transport system, and that means making it easy to charge wherever you are.' An allocation of almost €8m will be provided to support grants for recharging infrastructure at the selected sites, with chargers set to be in place by the end of this year. The new sites will deliver 175 new fast and ultra-fast recharging points, at 53 locations along the national road network, making it quicker and easier for EV drivers to top up on longer journeys. The announcement is part of a wider plan to build a reliable recharging network across the country, with the distance between recharging hubs to be 60km or less. None of the 53 new high-power recharging hubs are located in Dublin. Donegal has the most new hubs with seven. The recharging hubs are funded through the Light Duty Vehicle (LDV) initiative operated by Zero Emission Vehicles Ireland (ZEVI), and delivered by Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII). This phase of the initiative focused on over 1,200km of national single-carriageway roads. Enterprises such as petrol/service station operators, car park owners, hotels, supermarkets/retail outlets, and others with publicly accessible sites, could apply through a competitive grant process for funding. The total allocation for this aspect is €7.9m. Peter Walsh, CEO of TII, said: 'Working in partnership with ZEVI and the private sector, this scheme is helping us build the kind of infrastructure people can rely on: fast, efficient and accessible.' At the weekend, the local authorities in Cork county and Kerry announced plans to team up to plan the delivery of EV charging infrastructure across the southwest. Cork and Kerry County Councils launched a joint public consultation process seeking public input into the potential location and type of EV charging points that need to be installed in both counties over the coming years, in a bid to facilitate the move of more people to EVs. The public consultation for the southwest is open until 4pm on June 30. Read More Funding to electrify Cork rail reaches next EU round
