Ireland’s Data Regulators Responsible for Issuing One Third of All EU GDPR Fines

Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) issued fines worth more than €1 billion in 2022, a new survey has found. This places Ireland at the top of the EU league table for the aggregate fines imposed last year.  

Ireland's DPC also issued five of the top ten largest fines for GDPR breaches across the EU in 2022. The fines issues by Ireland’s DPC last year account for more than a third of the total number of fines across Europe. 

According to the latest GDPR and Data Breach Survey from law firm DLA Piper, 2022 was another record year with European data regulators issuing €2.9 billion in GDPR fines last year. This was more than double the value of fines issued in 2021. 

The survey looks at data fines issued since 28 January 2022 and covers all 27 EU member states as well as the UK, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein.  It found that the average number of notified data breaches per day fell slightly from 328 to 300. 

According to the survey Luxembourg is in second position for aggregate fines imposed and also holds the record for the highest individual GDPR fine of €746 million which was issued in 2021. 

Ireland is the lead regulator jurisdiction for many US MNCs and global technology companies who have located their EMEA headquarters here. AmCham believes that this status has allowed Irish regulators to develop world-class skills in ‘good regulation’ and has supported the development of trust between regulatory bodies, industry and the public. Factors such as the ‘country of origin’ principle and the ‘one-stop shop’ under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) have provided certainty to business in terms of the regulatory bodies they must engage with, and the legislative and regulatory ecosystem in which they will operate.  

In strengthening Ireland’s role as a digital regulatory hub, AmCham advocates for developing Ireland into a centre of excellence for regulation and ensuring Ireland is a strong advocate for the protection of the ‘country of origin’ principle at EU level.  Maintaining certainty with regard to regulation for companies is crucial in continuing to attract inward investment.   

AmCham is currently preparing a white paper on Ireland's position as a digital regulatory hub within the EU.

To engage with AmCham on topics related to digital, please contact Colm O’Callaghan Head of Public Affairs and Advocacy at c.ocallaghan@amcham.ie.