Cathal Ryan was appointed Deputy Commissioner, with responsibility for Consultation and Supervision in January 2023. He is a qualified lawyer specialising in regulatory and data protection law.

Cathal has worked in a number of regulatory senior management and legal roles with the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, the Chief States Solicitor’s Office, the Legal Aid Board and the DPC (as an Assistant Commissioner between 2015 and 2020). He is a key contributor at a national and an EU level on behalf of the DPC and was the lead rapporteur for EU Codes of Conduct guidelines.

In his current role, he has responsibility for the following areas: