IrelandGDPR Chapter V, Cross-Border Transfer of Personal Data from Ireland
Regulation (EU) 2016/679, Arts. 44-49
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What follows is LexLint's own research summary of this law, not legal advice.
In force since 25 May 2018.
A cross border transfer rule binding public and private bodies.
As of 24 August 2026.
What it requires
- Rely on a European Commission adequacy decision, Standard Contractual Clauses with a transfer impact assessment, Binding Corporate Rules, or a narrow Article 49 derogation before moving personal data of a person in Ireland outside the European Economic Area.
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureNo
Private right of actionYes
Penalty structure
GDPR Article 83(5)(c): the higher fine tier, up to EUR 20,000,000 or 4% of total worldwide annual turnover of the preceding financial year, applies to infringement of the Chapter V transfer rules in Articles 44 to 49.
- Rule
- Higher of
- As of
- 2 September 2026
- Currency
- EUR
- Fixed cap
- 20,000,000
- Turnover percentage cap
- 4
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
Data Protection Commission (An Coimisiún um Chosaint Sonraí), Ireland's supervisory authority under the GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.
Enforcement record
Counts the Data Protection Commission's finalised large scale statutory inquiries that resulted in an administrative fine in calendar year 2025 (4), per the Commission's own press release announcing its 2025 Annual Report, published 2026-06-30: two fines totalling EUR 530 million against TikTok Technology Limited over transfers of EEA user data to China, and a EUR 550,000 fine against the Department of Social Protection over biometric facial matching in the Public Services Card registration process; fines_per_year of just over EUR 530.77 million is the release's own stated total for the year. Public enforcement actions only, counted from the Commission's own announcement rather than a private tracker; the release does not restate a cumulative since-2018 total, so total_fines is not recorded here. This is the regime's own enforcement record, not specific to this instrument.
- As of
- 2 September 2026
- Currency
- EUR
- Source link
- https://www.dataprotection.ie/en/data-protection-commission-publishes-2025-annual-report
- Fines per year
- 530,770,000
- Actions per year
- 4
What it reaches
Obligation class
Transfer
Who checks it
Audit expectation
continuous
Who audits it
Self
Where the report goes
Produced on request
What this law does
Drafted with AI from the cited sources under the direction of UnGovr staff. UnGovr holds editorial responsibility for this page.
Transferring personal data of a person in Ireland outside the European Economic Area requires a European Commission adequacy decision, Standard Contractual Clauses, Binding Corporate Rules, or a narrow Article 49 derogation, backed by the highest Article 83(5) fine tier.
The DPC additionally operates the one-stop-shop coordination role given Ireland's concentration of EU-headquartered controllers, but this is an institutional and procedural role in cross-border enforcement coordination, not an added transfer restriction. No DPA 2018-specific derogation on outbound transfers was identified.
When LexLint raises it
crawls_webtrains_modelsdeploys_chatbotautomated_outreachprocesses_voiceprocesses_biometrics
Read the law
Official Journal text, EUR-Lex, Regulation (EU) 2016/679
DPC one-stop-shop guidance
Every line above is drawn from the primary source linked here, read on the date shown. This is a research summary, not legal advice.