The Irish Times reports that the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) has collected only a tiny portion of the €3.26 billion in fines imposed over the last five years. According to the DPC, as of the end of October this year, only €19.9 million has been collected, which accounts for just 0.6% of the total fines.
Freedom of Information data reveals the amount of fines issued and collected by year:
- 2020: €785,000 fines issued, €75,000 paid
- 2021: €225 million fines issued ,€800,000 paid
- 2022: €1 billion fines issued, €17.6 million paid.
- 2023: €1.55 billion fines issued, €815,000 paid
- 2024: €401 million fines issued, €582,500 paid
The DPC clarified that none of the €3.256 billion in fines has been written off as uncollectable. Fines are not payable until confirmed by the Circuit Court, which requires the DPC to apply formally. These applications can only proceed if the fined party has not chosen to appeal the decision, which limits the DPC's ability to collect on these fines. As things stand, many of the outstanding penalties, particularly those issued to technology companies, remain under appeal or are otherwise tied up in legal processes.
What is this page?
You are reading a summary article on the Privacy Newsfeed, a free resource for DPOs and other professionals with privacy or data protection responsibilities helping them stay informed of industry news all in one place. The information here is a brief snippet relating to a single piece of original content or several articles about a common topic or thread. The main contributor is listed in the top left-hand corner, just beneath the article title.
The Privacy Newsfeed monitors over 300 global publications, of which more than 5,750 summary articles have been posted to the online archive dating back to the beginning of 2020. A weekly roundup is available by email every Friday.
