As the Tánaiste will be aware, the activities of Cambridge Analytica in the UK and around the world were dramatically uncovered at the weekend. This company engaged in sinister manipulation of the electoral and democratic process in many countries. It stopped at nothing to profit from the nefarious use of data to undermine the political process. The Tánaiste will also be aware that a fundamental flaw in Facebook's data protection rules has been exposed. The data of 50 million users was taken without their knowledge and used to steer the course of the 2016 election campaign in the United States. As the Tánaiste knows, the Data Protection Bill 2018 is going through the Seanad at the moment and is due to come to this House. One of the many weaknesses in the Bill is the provision in section 43 allowing personal data to be gathered in this country for political purposes, particularly in elections. As the Internet knows very few boundaries, we could be a home base for that sort of activity in different parts of the world.

We are at the start of a referendum campaign which is critical for this country. It is important that it is conducted by proper means and in a way that is fair to all sides. There is a real lacuna in our legal system at present. The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland has said it will not be responsible for regulating advertising in the referendum process, even though Facebook is now a broadcasting platform in many instances. Facebook has said it will put advertisements in newspapers to steer people away from possible fake news. I do not know how that will work. The Data Protection Commissioner seems to be powerless to do anything other than to advise Irish householders and individuals who will vote in the referendum how to trace where advertising has come from and how to turn it off or measure its effect.

In light of the clear realities of where we are, and given the importance of this country having the very highest data and digital standards, will the Government consider amending section 43 of the Data Protection Bill 2018, which proposes to allow private data to be used for political purposes? This is one of many amendments that need to be made. What can the Referendum Commission do to ensure there is real transparency in the forthcoming referendum campaign? When people advertise on social media platforms - I understand Twitter is not going to take advertisements, but Facebook will do so - there needs to be absolute clarity about where that advertising is coming from and who has paid for it so that we might have some balance and some truth. We should not allow the various international and other interests who might want to pervert our referendum campaign to have their way.

The Deputy has asked a lot of questions about this serious matter. This morning, the Cabinet spent some time discussing many of the issues he has raised. I will set out the Government response on this so far. The Data Protection Bill 2018 is coming through the Seanad at the moment. We have approved a Report Stage amendment which is not directly related to the issues raised by Deputy Ryan. After the Bill has been passed by the Seanad, it will be considered on the floor of the Dáil and we will have an opportunity to tease through these issues in some detail. We need to ensure the Data Protection Commissioner is adequately resourced. There has been a dramatic increase in the level of resources made available to the Data Protection Commissioner and her office. I think her resources have increased fourfold over the past three years. This year, the number of staff will increase significantly to approximately 140 from just over 80 last year.

We are trying to learn lessons and take on board legitimate issues which are being raised by Opposition parties. For example, Fianna Fáil recently proposed a Private Members' Bill on online advertising and social media transparency. Although we did not accept that legislation at the time, on the back of it we have set up an interdepartmental group, chaired by the Department of the Taoiseach, to ensure we are looking at all these issues and responding appropriately.

It is probably the SCU.

There is a series of responses that are needed to ensure we will have legislation which is fit for purpose and an Office of the Data Protection Commissioner which is well resourced and on top of what it needs to be on top of. We need to look across Departments at what can or should be done to ensure consumers will not be exposed to fake news and that their data will not be abused for that purpose by way of the data mining we saw in the Facebook case which was exposed in the United Kingdom in recent days. There is a comprehensive discussion taking place in government on this issue and we are backing it up with significant increases in resources. I look forward to the data protection legislation being brought before the House when we will have an opportunity to tease through some of the questions the Deputy has raised.

I may have raised a lot of points, but I also asked two questions. Will the Government amend section 43, about which the Tánaiste said nothing, and will it do anything that will affect the referendum? To hear that the Cabinet has been talking about this issue is very interesting, but it does not answer either question. I suggest we take the Bill proposed by Deputy James Lawless and put it through the House at speed in order that it would be in place in time to have a real effect during the referendum campaign. I am sure we could quickly agree to do so across the House. We need a money message from the Minister for Finance and it might break his silence in that area.

By way of the House taking the lead and showing an example, I have a suggestion for all parties and representatives who advertise on Facebook. I do it because it is highly effective and can be targeted. Should we not declare what we are doing in advertising on Facebook or online to start to create a culture of transparency? Other than saying the Cabinet is talking about the issue and resourcing the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner which I welcome and which has been happening for many a year, what specficially will the Government do? Will it put through the Bill proposed by Deputy James Lawless? If not, what tools will the Referendum Commission have to bring about transparency in this area? Will the Tánaiste declare his own advertising on Facebook?

The Minister is looking at making a considered amendment to section 43. With respect, it would not be reasonable for me to outline during Leaders' Questions what that detailed amendment will be. We are looking at it and will have an opportunity to tease through it with other political parties when the legislation is brought through the various Stages in the Dáil. The Referendum Commission cannot really get under way in the work it needs to do until we pass the legislation which I hope we will do this week. That will allow the commission to get on with its job of providing accurate information in order that in the upcoming referendum the people will be able to make an informed choice on the basis of the facts. I suspect there will be a lot more debate on the issue. Our advice is that the legislation proposed by Deputy James Lawless is simply not fit for purpose, but that does not mean that the issues raised in it do not require full consideration; they do. However, I would like to ensure we will consider the issues involved which we will have an opportunity to do in the context of the data protection legislation which will be brought before the House in the weeks ahead.