The Last Word with Matt Cooper How Does GDPR Prevent Spending Tracking?
Nov 25, 2025
Craig Hughes, Political Editor at the Irish Daily Mail, dives into the complexities of tracking public spending under GDPR constraints. He highlights how the lack of a centralized database and historical cuts to procurement data are hindering transparency. Hughes discusses proposed legislation aimed at linking tender estimates to actual costs, which could help identify spending overruns earlier. He provides alarming examples of cost escalations in projects like the Merrion Square tearooms, revealing a pattern of financial mismanagement that raises urgent political concerns.
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Centralised Spend Tracking Was Removed
- The Department of Public Expenditure no longer holds a centralised database of individual project payments since 2019.
- That gap means ministers only get tender estimates and learn of overruns later via audits, limiting timely intervention.
Dolan's Push To Link Tenders And Payments
- Fianna Fáil TD Albert Dolan is pushing legislation to link tenders to actual payments so overruns can be spotted earlier.
- Craig Hughes says this would let ministers intervene before problems end up only in audit reports.
GDPR Cited As Reason For Reduced Transparency
- The 2019 decision to stop collating data was taken on the basis it might breach GDPR.
- Craig Hughes argues GDPR is EU law that Ireland may have gold-plated and can be wound back to restore transparency.