Can You Sue for a GDPR Breach? Yes — Here Is the Test
22 April 2026 · Mary Molloy Solicitors
The right to compensation is written into the GDPR itself, and the Data Protection Act 2018 gives it an Irish procedure: the data protection action under section 117, brought in the Circuit Court or High Court against the controller or processor whose infringement caused you damage.
The three elements
Infringement: your personal data was processed in breach of the GDPR or the 2018 Act — a leak, an unlawful disclosure, ignored rights, unlawful surveillance. Damage: material loss or non-material harm such as distress, anxiety and reputational injury; no seriousness threshold applies, but the harm must exist and be proved. Causation: the damage flowed from the infringement. All three, on evidence — the claim form does not fill the gaps.
Venue, remedies and realism
The Circuit Court is the workhorse venue given the level of ordinary awards; the High Court exists for the serious end. Available relief includes compensation and, importantly, injunctions — stopping continuing unlawful processing can matter more than the money. On quantum, Irish guidance keeps ordinary non-material awards modest; nobody honest will promise you a figure, and in contentious business a solicitor may not calculate fees or other charges as a percentage or proportion of any award or settlement.
The strategic pairing
The court action and the DPC complaint answer different questions — your damage versus their conduct — and can run together: a regulatory finding of infringement is useful ballast under a claim, while the claim secures what the DPC cannot award. Limitation periods apply to court proceedings and do not wait for a complaint to conclude, so take the advice early and sequence deliberately rather than discovering the deadline behind you.
Read more in our main guide: GDPR Compensation Claims: Suing for a Data Breach · or back to the blog.
This page contains general information about Irish law and practice. It is not legal advice, it may not reflect your circumstances, and reading it does not create a solicitor–client relationship with Mary Molloy Solicitors. We do not advise on taxation; please speak to your accountant or Revenue. In contentious business, a solicitor may not calculate fees or other charges as a percentage or proportion of any award or settlement.