Celebrating Excellence: Dolores Martyn Receives FIP and PICCASO Award for Children’s Data Safeguarding

Congratulations, Dolores!

XpertDPO is proud to celebrate the achievements of Dolores Martyn, our Governance and Policy Lead, who has received two of the most respected honours in the privacy profession: the Fellow of Information Privacy (FIP) designation from the International Association of Privacy Professionals and the Safeguarding Children’s Data Award at the 2025 PICCASO Privacy Awards in London.

These recognitions reflect her leadership as one of Ireland’s, and dare we say Europe’s, foremost upcoming experts in children’s rights, public-sector data protection, and high-risk GDPR governance, and they highlight the depth of expertise she brings to her work as an outsourced Data Protection Officer and specialist DPO advisor.

A European Recognition for Leadership in Children’s Data Protection

This year’s PICCASO Awards brought together leaders from across Europe to recognise excellence in privacy, governance and data ethics. Dolores’ award reflects the significance of her contribution to safeguarding children’s data in complex, multi-agency environments, particularly through her work on the Barnahus Ireland project, an EU–Council of Europe initiative designed to create a trauma-informed, child-centred model for responding to complex children’s cases.

Her role in strengthening the governance framework for this project placed her among Europe’s most respected practitioners working at the intersection of public-sector accountability, sensitive data processing, and children’s rights.

Strengthening Barnahus Through Data Protection Governance

A core element of Dolores’ award-winning work is her contribution as a Council of Europe National Expert to the development of Ireland’s Barnahus model. She authored the Draft Record of Processing Activities (RoPA) for the Barnahus service, an in-depth, cross-agency governance document that maps how highly sensitive children’s data flows between Tusla, An Garda Síochána, the HSE, Children’s Health Ireland and other key partners.

This RoPA was presented at the national roundtable on 6 November 2024 and now serves as a foundation for designing accountable and transparent information-sharing arrangements as the Barnahus model expands across Ireland.

Her work directly responds to issues identified in XpertDPO’s earlier legal, regulatory and policy analysis for the Council of Europe, which highlighted long-standing gaps in Ireland’s child protection landscape, from inconsistent interagency data sharing and unclear consent processes to the absence of a nationally coordinated strategy for child complex case response.

By designing a RoPA that clarifies lawful bases, standardises accountability mechanisms and supports coherent cooperation between agencies, Dolores has helped build the governance infrastructure needed to protect children’s data in one of the most sensitive and regulated areas of public service.

Fellow of Information Privacy: A Global Mark of DPO Expertise

Dolores’ recent achievement of the FIP designation from the International Association of Privacy Professionals further underscores her standing as a leading expert Data Protection Officer. The credential is awarded only to professionals who demonstrate advanced knowledge of privacy law, global data protection standards and hands-on experience in implementing governance frameworks in real-world environments.

For organisations seeking an outsourced DPO or specialist DPO support, the FIP designation is an assurance that their Data Protection Officer possesses both authoritative expertise and a proven record of delivering practical, high-quality GDPR compliance.

Bringing Award-Winning Expertise to XpertDPO Clients

What makes Dolores’ achievements especially meaningful is the way this expertise is applied daily in her work with XpertDPO’s clients. She supports public bodies, social-care organisations, regulated sectors and private companies by delivering highly specialised data protection governance, whether acting as their Outsourced Data Protection Officer, reinforcing an existing DPO team, or advising on complex issues such as children’s data, interagency information sharing, high-risk processing, sensitive data governance and RoPA development.

Her grounding in public-sector data protection, combined with her experience working on national-level initiatives such as Barnahus, gives clients access to an expert DPO who understands both the legal framework and the operational realities of safeguarding vulnerable individuals’ data.

Dolores’ recognition at PICCASO and the IAPP reflects the values that underpin XpertDPO’s approach to data protection: ethical leadership, integrity, realistic and pragmatic compliance, and an unwavering focus on protecting people, especially children and vulnerable individuals. Her work demonstrates that the role of a Data Protection Officer is far more than regulatory oversight; it is about shaping systems that are fair, transparent and designed around the dignity and safety of those they serve.

Looking Ahead

As Ireland strengthens its commitment to safeguarding children and protecting the rights of vulnerable individuals, the role of experienced, ethically grounded Data Protection Officers has never been more critical. This extends far beyond the Barnahus model and into areas such as assisted decision-making, where organisations must navigate complex obligations under the Decision Support Service and the broader framework designed to uphold autonomy, dignity and informed choice.

Dolores’ achievements reflect the calibre of governance expertise that XpertDPO brings to these environments. Her work demonstrates how complex GDPR structures, transparent Record of Processing Activities and practical safeguards can support not only children, but also adults who rely on enhanced protection and responsible data handling. By combining legal expertise with a deep understanding of real-world service delivery, Dolores strengthens XpertDPO’s position as a trusted provider of outsourced DPO services, specialist DPO support and high-risk data governance for public bodies, regulated services and organisations working with vulnerable people.

Our mission is to help clients implement safeguards that genuinely protect those who depend on them most while guiding organisations confidently through the evolving landscape of rights, autonomy and sensitive data protection.

We are immensely proud of Dolores’ achievements and the impact her work continues to have, both within XpertDPO and across Ireland’s public-sector, children’s safeguarding and wider vulnerable persons landscape.