 of which there are many, friends, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, Brendan. Thank you for your very kind and overly complimentary, I think, introduction. We did soldier together, I suppose. One of the most important issues that this country had during the fiscal stability referendum that Thysiak asked me to front up an internal strategy group that was to bring civic groups together. Brendan was very heavily involved as well. Of course, that campaign was successful and I think has proven to be extremely important since for our country and our role within the European Union. So that's how we originally got introduced and perhaps in some small way is one of the reasons where I'm standing here as Minister for European Affairs and just acknowledge Tom Arnold as well. We had a lot to do with each other down in Cork when I had the great pleasure and privilege of being Lord Mayor. It's a huge pleasure for me to be here today in one of my first addresses really and my first time addressing the IIEA and to thank you all for giving your time to come out at lunchtime. My few words is a little bit long, we were going through it so I hope you'll indulge me because it's important that I set out, I suppose, what I believe is my vision for the next year and a half or however long I would be Minister for European Affairs and Data Protection. I was, of course, formally on the Iraq this European Affairs Committee which is a committee of the Doyle which functions particularly well. So I'm going to talk to you today as well about the challenges that face us with respect to data protection and of course European Affairs and data protection are not at all disconnected from each other but first of all I want to talk about the European Union. About a month ago I was in Brussels and a meeting cancelled early which never happens normally in Brussels and I went to see the palace, the Royal Palace and I was reading a section from the diary of King Albert who had visited Prussia to meet with his cousin Kaiser Wilhelm and the discussion centered around the fact that would Belgium join Prussia in the war with France that was going to happen and the narrative was that of course there would be war with France because there was always going to be war with France and of course there was and this came to pass 100 years ago from today on the 28th of July and it cost 37 million lives and effectively that war lasted until the end of World War II for 31 years and it's so easy for us now to forget when we're talking about lending and borrowing and fiscal rules, single growth packs and all the various parts of the discussion and the narrative within the European Union that what we have in Europe now is a peace process and it's a peace process that is now 65 years old and we need to remind ourselves of that I think from time to time and we also need to remember that what emerged from the fields of Flanders after World War II or the battles were fought between World War I and World War II should never be repeated. Today we have 28 member states with the commission, the council, the courts and the various banks and just like 20th century, sorry and of course just like the start of the 20th century European nations and our peoples still have their differences. However now our differences are over fiscal policy. 100 years ago our differences were over land and they resulted in wars and as we move out of the experiences of the past seven years and the hardship we have endured and encountering the effects of the global crisis I firmly believe that we need to spend time reflecting on what we have achieved and appreciating the fact that the European Union though far from perfect is now good enough and I suppose that's the main theme that I want to tease out and discuss so maybe in the question and answer session afterwards we can come to that but if you compare the European Union with the United States indeed with the individual member states you rarely if ever hear any dialogue surrounding the institutions that they have. Apart from in Ireland we had a debate last year about the institutions we have and we all know how that turned out with our senate but I do think it's time and this is a theme I think that needs to be developed across the continent some countries support this others are less sure I think we need a period of reflection and we need to try and get more from what we already have from our existing parliament from the commission itself from the various commissioners of course and their staff rather than constantly trying to see if what we have needs further tweaking and needs further adaptation the new commission will have a strong role I think in that regard and it's packed this time with great political experience it has five former prime ministers four former deputy prime ministers and seven returning commissioners who have come back and I think it's important that we mention a word for our own commissioner Phil Hogan and I think it's significant for Ireland that one of our leading political figures who certainly has strong political skills has been given such a critical portfolio we in this country have developed very strong pharma and technical sectors but we cannot forget that Ireland pass and I believe even more so in the future is a country that has always had as our bedrock the industry of agriculture and food and in that regard we've always been leaders in climate efficient agriculture and next month the European council is what's called the climate council and we have very significant interest in this regard because we already have one of the most energy efficient agricultural industries in the world because most of our agricultural produce is grass-fed and agri-food is fundamental to Europe's food security you know we frequently hear reference to energy security and rightly so Europe at the moment is energy is vulnerable with respect to energy supply and while we have a very large food surplus in the European Union at the moment it's a surplus that requires to be to be protected of most importance to our 500 million people is the knowledge that we will always be able to give ourselves the most basic of all provisions which is the ability for food we're now at the moment without the distraction of crisis management and I think the focus has to shift to coordinating economic recoveries we need to find ways of re-engaging with our people and allowing them to reach their full potential and we had this discussion over lunch we had a lovely lunch before we came up to here and it's about I suppose a period we've had in our country now where we've been trying to sell to the Irish people and indeed right across the continent the European Union governments have been trying to sell a variety of economic measures, fiscal corrections and even treaties it's time we also I think it's time we spent more time talking to our people at a very young age through schools, through the universities and right through every part of Irish society about the benefits of just being European itself about our culture and about our way of life and about what we share rather than the necessary dialogue that we've had to have over the last number of years that's not to say of course that economic issues and still won't play a huge role for all of us and President Junker has set out a new 300 million strategic agenda package to target investment and to stimulate growth and jobs he speaks of a union of jobs, competitiveness a union that empowers and protects all citizens working towards an energy union with forward-looking climate policy and a union of freedom, security, justice and I suppose finally a union as a strong global actor and we are seeing that I think the last one in particular in how Europe has to respond to the great threats it faces from the east now these are all laudable, ambitious and well-taught-out aims and they represent the cornerstones of a new European union and I suppose for people like me and for all of us they also mark out the cornerstones of where together we are trying to go but you'll have to indulge me today if I focus on the one that for the moment is the most important not just for Ireland but for the union as a whole and that's the area of growth, jobs and competitiveness now growth is one of those terms that's almost become a buzzword it was the motto of our presidency it was on the posters we had during the fiscal stability treaty and it's bandied about in policy documents and politicians invoke it almost if not all the time but growth of course is much more than a mantra it's about reducing unemployment creating new jobs creating opportunities and empowering our citizens to be the very best that they can and most of all it's about fostering an environment where our young people have hope for their own futures so the challenge for the European Union is to create a political, commercial and social environment that will spur that sentiment now we're all aware of our own efforts in Ireland and you're tired of reading them about them I'm sure and you're also I suppose more recently listening to the narrative about moving away from the boom and bust but it is important to say that our economy is recovering and I think that's a testament to the work of the Irish people our sacrifice is hard work and capacity to embrace difficult reforms explains why hopefully we now will move on from the boom and bust cycles of the past and it's our responsibility to ensure that we now have a period of solid upward growth however there are no short cuts to achieving growth and every nation in the European Union has to take responsibility for implementing structural reforms designed to make our economies more responsive more competitive and more flexible the stability and growth pact is not a pact that should be applied solely to smaller countries it is fundamentally in every country's interest to ensure that its provisions are respected the council has made it clear that members of states should respect the existing stability and growth pack rules and Ireland certainly and the council believes that there is significant flexibility afforded by the pact rules another key role for the European Union must be in encouraging growth in trade do you have many protectionists here Brendan is it protectionist free zone breaking down barriers to international commerce has unquestionably the capacity to boost demand it encourages innovation and it generates growth and creates employment if we need an example the single market of the European Union is the obvious one that is why our government like our neighbours across in the United Kingdom are firm supporters of the European Union's trade agenda this is at a time when Europe is crying out for more demand and for more markets and yet we have this within our gift and we cannot afford to ignore the potential positives this within our gift is of course the transatlantic trade and investment partnership, the TTIP and this should be an absolute focus and is a priority for the government there are of course concerns every country has their concerns we have for example a concern with respect to beef and it's one that we will be bringing our concern there is that the same rules apply to Irish beef, European beef as they do to American beef but every country will have their own areas of concern and it's important that the collective ambition is achieved so as important as trade is our EU digital agenda and the completion of the digital single market and there's huge potential here for Ireland to lead the world when it comes to e-commerce and next generation telecoms not just Ireland but the European Union as a whole and while the challenges are not negligible the reality is that our economies are becoming increasingly digitalised and we have no choice but to meet the needs of digital customers nationally there's a report I read last week that suggests that the digital economy in Ireland will expand in the next six years by 100% it will double in the next six years so Ireland will be pushing hard for much further progress on the digital agenda in order to boost growth and job creation now this brings me to I think the area that's perhaps of most interest or of some interest to people who are aware that I'm also the minister of state for digital protection and I'm the first minister with such responsibility in the European Union and I think in creating this portfolio the Taoiseach and the government is reflecting the importance of the ICT sector in our economy and the role it has played to date in our economic recovery and indeed the huge role it can have in the future of our economic recovery but it is also a recognition of the importance of effective data protection in the context of personal freedoms and civil liberties and also the need that we have to take in taking a whole of government approach to the issues which the dramatic increase in personal data is bringing about so my portfolio links some of the major themes that we face as a society today the impact of technology the influence of the European Union the place of multinational companies in Ireland and the role of regulation by the state and all of these hugely impact on our daily lives this is why I view data protection as a form of asset management our data is one of our most important and valuable assets it's inextricably linked with our identity and how we function in society be that through social media or through our presence online for banking, shopping or the daily management of our lives and like every asset data needs the optimum level of protection while also ensuring that this is within a world-class environment in which it can realize returns for the individual and I suppose that's essentially the key point of all of this the bottom line for data protection is that individuals feel that when they hand over their data when you hand over your data for whatever the purpose or reason that it is afforded the best possible protection from undue use and that the privacy is respected whilst enabling then the benefit from the full range of digital services and businesses so in engaging with the businesses that you can engage fully but in the knowledge that what you hand over of your own personal data is indeed protected and we know that these services are set to increase exponentially as emerging global trends see society and industry make greater and innovative use of data as a resource for providing and availing of differentiated services and data analytics technological advances and new business models such as smart devices cloud computing, big data, present new opportunities for business but they also pose new challenges for individual privacy and they give rise for a need to update the framework to protect individuals' privacy rights and facilitate business in the digital age can I take a drink? the data protection stuff is tough going excuse me so given our position here in Ireland we have a tech technology hope is you're all aware and we will have to ensure that Ireland will really be at the forefront of this thinking and that the new norms that are established whether by regulation, industry or otherwise whether they're between the interest of industry or service providers whether they're between individuals or groups that the basis in fundamental rights is protected that's why I'm initiating a process whereby the government will be clearly present in a dialogue with business and civil society on issues arising from the continued growth in personal data and technology we are initiating high level engagement with academic and legal experts and others the outcome of which will contribute to the elaboration of future policy this is also with a view to influencing thinking however at European Union level and this is to ensure that we have an appropriate data protection regime for the fast changing technology environment the issues on which I propose to engage with industry and civil society will clearly also arise in our own public sector where the challenge is to treat personal data with respect and to ensure there is no lessening of the trust that must exist between the individual and the state the public sector is under pressure to deliver services better and in new and innovative ways it is vitally important that safeguards are put in place to ensure that this is done properly and with due regard for the rights of our citizens equally in order to deliver the best possible service to ensure ease of access to that service and to implement fully modern, inefficient and effective public services there is an argument that channels for the flow of data between our departments and agencies needs to be established of course enforcement of our data protection legislation is the responsibility for the independent officer of the data protection commissioner and I very much welcome the recent appointment of Helen Dixon and also wish a happy retirement to Billy Hawks who did an excellent job as her predecessor the office was established in 1988 and it undertakes invaluable work such as the recent audit of Facebook which has garnered international attention but unfortunately it is massively under resourced for our needs the office requires more specialists, more support staff and a modern building that is fit for purpose this would be in addition to the existing business our existing presence which is in Port Arlington and I am very optimistic that these ambitions will be achieved in the short term we want to build on what we have to ensure that we develop a best in class data protection ecosystem and Ireland can achieve and does achieve frequently in many categories to a point where we can claim to be best in class the aim of the government and my own aim is to make Ireland a more attractive location for future oriented elements of technology providers whilst delivering a data privacy policy environment which gives individuals the confidence that they require that is not to say that we do not have a strong and appropriate data protection regime already our legal framework for data protection is derived from the data protection acts of 1988 and 2003 which affords very strong privacy protections and equips the office of the data protection commissioner with the necessary powers it needs of course it is important to point out and this is sometimes missed that the data protection regime in all EU member states are based on the same European Union directive so essentially there is no difference between the law here and the law say for example in Germany or any other member state the point is often misrepresented in the discourse on data protection right across Europe our data protection regime will be open, transparent, fair, fit for purpose and of course within European law and the European data protection directive entered into force in 1995 so times have moved on and we acknowledge that and the sheer pace of technological advancement and innovation means that we need to regulate the current modernize the current regulatory framework the EU data protection reform package has now been under negotiation for almost three years and while we have to acknowledge this is a complex area the potential benefits of a new regime are very clear I am very conscious of the need to balance in a proportionate way the requirements of the regulatory environment with the needs especially of small and medium sized businesses the full benefits of the digital economy will only be realized if citizens have trust and confidence in what we deliver at a European Union level of course new technologies have changed our lives generally for the better and new uses are being developed every day big data and other innovations offer the potential for future seismic shifts Ladies and gentlemen, between data protection which I've probably given a little bit too much time to and European affairs I very much look forward to having my hands full but there are exciting times and I look forward to meeting the challenges that are ahead both the government and the European Union I think will have to be brave and decisive across the full policy sphere and not afraid to move away when hard decisions have to be made but I suppose all of us and especially everybody here in this room because you clearly have a love and a passion for this beautiful Europe that we all share have a role in protecting this continent and I look forward to playing my part in that and I would like to thank you for inviting me and I'm happy to take any questions you may have Good evening Mahaka, thank you very much