OPW decision to reinstate visitor books welcome
Labour Dublin City Councillor Joe Costello has welcomed the decision by the OPW to reinstate visitor books and said:
“The decision by the OPW to reinstate Visitor Books to heritage sites is most welcome. But why did the OPW not consult with the Data Protection Commission before they made the totally erroneous decision to remove the books in the first place?” said Cllr Joe Costello who is a member of the Board of Visitors of Kilmainham Gaol, an OPW heritage site.
Cllr Costello had tabled a motion for the next meeting of the Board of Visitors meeting on Monday 29th July calling on the OPW to reverse that decision immediately.
“Each year over 8½ million people visit heritage sites under the control of the OPW who do a wonderful job to protect and enhance them. But to deprive visitors of the opportunity and pleasure of putting a comment in the visitors’ book was churlish in the extreme,” he said.
“That the Minister for State with responsibility for the OPW defended such a ludicrous decision earlier this week, is mind-boggling. Anybody in their right mind would know that the use of visitors’ books was not a breach of GDPR,” Cllr Costello concluded.