Paula is co-founder and director of IDPAA Limited, an independent Data Protection Officer and consultancy practice operating across multiple sectors in Ireland. She has over 28 years of experience in risk and information management, and holds qualifications spanning data protection, credit risk, company law, mediation for business & communities, and criminology & forensic psychology. She is also a certified ISO 27001 Lead Auditor.
In a voluntary capacity she serves as President of the Irish Computer Society (ICS) and sits on the executive committee of the Association of Data Protection Officers (ADPO), where she chairs its Training Committee. She has presented on cross border data and credit risk best practice across Europe at the invitation of the European Commission.
At Field Talk
Field Talk · November 2026
Who Protects the Protector
Being a Data Protection Officer means sitting at the crossroads of legal obligation, organisational pressure, and interpersonal conflict — often with little support of your own. Drawing on mediation and risk management, Paula shares practical strategies for managing conflict with opposing parties and difficult personalities, while protecting your own wellbeing and self-preservation in a role that so rarely protects you.