A group of privacy organisations, including the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, has written to the Government expressing concerns over the recent appointment of a third Commissioner of the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC).
Last month it was announced that Niamh Sweeney had been appointed to the role.
Ms Sweeney has previously held senior positions with technology companies including WhatsApp and Facebook, both run by Meta.
In their letter to the Government, the organisations said they were writing to publicly express their “outrage and misgivings” over the appointment, which they said “reflects a concerning level of disregard for EU law”.
“The appointed candidate has held a long-standing senior public affairs role at one of the largest technology platforms (Meta) that the DPC is mandated to regulate,” the letter stated.
A spokesperson for the Department of Justice said the appointment was made under Section 15 of the Data Protection Act which provides that a Commissioner shall be appointed by the Government on the recommendation of the Public Appointments Service.
“The Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration is fully satisfied with the appointment process,” the spokesperson said.
At the time of the announcement last month, the Data Protection Commission said it welcomed Ms Sweeney’s appointment to the role.