STATUTORY INSTRUMENT

S.I. No. 2 of 2001.

DATA PROTECTION (REGISTRATION) REGULATIONS, 2001

S.I. No. 2 of 2001

Data Protection (Registration) Regulations, 2001

I, JOE MEADE, Data Protection Commissioner, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 16(1) (e) of the Data Protection Act, 1988 (No. 25 of 1988) , and with the consent of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, hereby make the following regulations:

1.     (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Data Protection (Registration) Regulations, 2001.

(2) These Regulations shall come into operation on the 10th day of January, 2001.

2.     In these Regulations-

“internet access provider” means a person whose business consists wholly or partly in the connection of persons to the internet, and who holds personal data relating to such persons;

“telecommunications service provider” means a person who holds a licence granted under section 111 of the Postal and Telecommunications Services Act, 1983 ( No. 24 of 1983 ), as amended by the European Communities (Telecommunications Licences) Regulations, 1998 ( S.I. No. 96 of 1998 ), and who holds personal data relating to a person to whom a network, service or system is provided under such licence.

3.     The following persons are hereby prescribed for the purposes of section 16(1)(e) of the Data Protection Act, 1988 (No. 25 of 1988) , that is to say:

(a)   data controllers who are telecommunications service providers, and

(b)   data controllers who are internet access providers.

The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform hereby consents to the making of these Regulations.

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.)

These Regulations provide for the registration, under section 16 of the Data Protection Act, 1988 , of persons who provide telecommunications services and internet services, and who keep personal data relating to users of those services.